1685–86
In these years de Britto was baptising thousands across the south. In one stretch of two months alone, his biographer counted “two thousand seven hundred”. At Vadakkankulam it is believed he baptised around two hundred. These were the first Christians the village ever had, men, women and children brought to the water together. It was its founding harvest, and from it grew the great Christian community this place would one day be known for.
What this source establishes
The 1686 dating — the one witness that disagrees with the parish's own 1685. A diocesan witness, so it is an institution reporting on itself, not an outside check.
This is as much of the book as this site prints. It is named in full in the bibliography below.