St. John the Baptist Church is a Syro Malabar Catholic Parish Situated in the small village of Moonumury in the Thrissur District in Kerala. This parish is functioning under the diocese of Irinjalakuda and presently it includes 1140 families in 27 family units. The saintly life and zeal of the brave martyr, St. John the Baptis, who came with the message of humility, proclaiming the lamp og God, still inspire and enlightens the minds of parishioners.

The History of the parish begins in 1923, the year in which the parish was established. Earlier, the village areas of Moonumury and surrounding villages were included in the parish Perambra. People from these areas had to travel a long distance for going to church at those times when transportation facilities were very limited. And therefore, the parish of Moonumury was the fruit of prayers and cry of our forefathers who wished for getting a parish church nearby. Considering the needs of the people of God, the Bishop of Thrissur, Mar Francis Vazhapilly gave his consent to establish a parish in Moonumury in 1923 with Fr. John Ambooken as the Vicar. 

The local People here depended mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture in the hilly region was a constant battle with natural calamities and wildlife. And it is believed that it was the reason for choosing an ascetic St. John the Baptist as the Patron of the church.

1n 1935, a presbytery was built close to the church. In 1942, the church was enlarged and built; in 1969 the façade of the church was raised and built. In 1982, the church was renovated and in the same year parish celebrated its 60’s anniversary. The presbytery was renovated in 1998. In 1999 the parish was allotted the service of an assistant vicar. On 2002 January 26, the altar of the church was renovated and blesses. In 2003, parish celebrated its 80th anniversary. In 2013, the church was demolished and 2014; the foundation stone for the new church was laid. And on 2017 January 22, the blessing of newly built church took place.

A U.P School named after St. Joseph is functioning under the parish in Moonumury. It was established in 1948. In 2008, it was renovated. There also exist two halls under the control of the church. They are the Baptist Hall and the St. Joseph’s Hall in Moonumury. Baptist Hall was built in 2011 and the latter was built in 2014. There is also a cemetery along with the church. In 1982, a chapel was built in the cemetery. The cell model cemetery was built in 1991.

There are six chapels established in the parish with St. Sebastian, St. Antony, Blessed Virgin Mary, St. George, St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist as the Patrons in Kodaly, Chungal (1944) , Ombathungal (2000), Chembuchira (2005) and the rest two in Moonumury (1986 & 2016) respectively. The Chapels in Kodaly, Chungal and Ombathungal were renovated in 1986, 2005, and 2017 respectively. St. Joseph’s chapel in Moonumury was also renovated in 2017. There is also a ‘kurishupalli’ in Mankuttipadam named after Blessed Virgin Mary functioning under the parish.

There are two convents functioning within the boundaries of the parish. The first one is St. Antony’s Convent of Congregation of St. Martha (CSM), and another one is Santhi Bhavn convent of Francisacn Handmaides of Good Shepherd (FHGS). Both of them are established in Moonumury and render commendable service in the society. An old age home is run by nuns of Santhi Bhavan Convent. An orphanage home had been functioning under St. Antony’s convent but later it was closed.

The day to day functioning of the parish is greatly remarkable. The feast day of St. Sebastian celebrated in the parish is not only well-known in this dioceses, but also in neighboring dioceses and therefore its success is something to be proud of for family units, communities and the central Committee. Also, on the first Sunday of the September, parish celebrates the feast of its patron; St. John the Baptist and a ‘nerchayoot’ is given on that day to all who comes for the feast. And every year on November 2nd, Holy Mass, Prayers and office are done for the dead and a ‘shardhayuttu’ is given for all. In October, rosary prayers and procession are performed and the month of May is specially treated as the month of Mary. novana of  St. John the Baptist are held on Fridays and Tuesdays. For the spiritual awakening of the parishioners, lent season retreats as well as adorations and worship prayers are conducted every year on special occasions. Religious education is being conducted well in the parish. The family union which has been established since 1979 is also active along with children’s union once a month.

The Board of Directors, the Coordinating Committee and the Central Committee as well as Altar boys association, Choir, Thirubalasakhym, Social Action, AKCC, Senior Citizen, Madreredi, Franciscan Laity Congregation, Vincent de Paul Society, Snapakashabdam  (Parish Bulletin), Prayer Group, Jesus Youth and KCYM have a strong presence in the activites of the church. All organizations and committees meets at least once a month play a significant role in the welfare of the parish. At the time of blessing of the new church, a new organization called karunyanidhi was formed for the charity works. And at this moment, when parish has completed about 100 years of functioning, it commemorates the late Bp. James Pazhayatil, the former vicars and parishioners and all who had contributed to the functioning of the parish. And the parish continues its journey putting trust on the divine providence and intercession of St. John the Baptist.