 Vallarpadam is about one kilometer (½ mile) away from the Ernakulam mainland.The picture of Mary and Infant Jesus, installed at the top of the main altar of the Vallarpadam Church, was brought by Portuguese merchants under the leadership of Vasco Da Gama in 1524.In 1676 the old Church, which was known as the Church of the Holy Spirit, founded by the Portuguese missionaries, was destroyed by a heavy flood, and the picture was found floating in the backwaters.