The village of Gnannapuram was star ted in 1872 for the workers employed in the nearby mission land reclaimed for the cultivation of Paddy(the whole area extending from harbour upto Gnanapuram). Bro. Dominic Assier was in-charge of them. In 1874 we found there were 200 Catholics at Gnanapuram.
The cyclone of 1876 did immense damage to the village of Gnanapuram and the farm. The entire area was submerged, the bunds were broken, six persons perished and many went away from the village. But within a few months the necessary repairs were done and normal life star ted again.
1878 was a famine year and many people came to the town for work and food. Many more were admitted to work in the farm and most of the became catholics. A larger Church with a tiled roof was built closer to the stream and the village grew near the present Sleeva Guruthu which was first only a simple Cross under which were buried the superstitious objects of Hinduism relinquished by the first Christians (later on a compound wall around the area was built by the mission. In the middle of the quarderangle was the statue of Blessed Mother in the buitiful sturctural doom. This was shifted to the backdrops of the quarderangle in order to facilitate more people to gather infront of the statue on impor tant solemn occasions. The entire area of this quaderangle is the proper ty of the mission while its maintenance was looked after initially by Mr. C.O. Paul, popularly known as Malbar Showkar and at present it is being taken care by Mr.A. Bernard). Little by little, by religious education the Christian practices improved. The people were hard-working. A school(R C M St. Peter’s Aided Ele. School) was star ted for the Children which was recognised by the Government in 1900. Originally it was in the present B.Ed. College Campus area, near to the first church of the parish in the same campus. Later on in the year 1925 another church was built in the area where the present church exists. Growing population compelled the demand for a new, spacious church. It was during the time of Father N Stephen, bishop Gopu Ignatius allowed the new church be constructed and he consecrated the new church on 21.12.1981 along with the two bishops from Visakhapatnam, viz. His Grace, Kagithapu Mariadas, the Archbishop of Visakhapatnam and Bishop Mulagada John of the Diocese of Eluru.
There was in the village of Gnanapuram a serious epidemic of Cholera and Bishop Clerc made a vow to have the procession every year on 15th August. For the first time this procession was held in 1906. It is fact thereafter no serious epidemic has ever occured in Gnanapuram Village. Today Gnanapuram is the biggest Parish of the Diocese --the pride of the Catholics. It is an oasis of vocations in the Indian Church. The present Archbishop of Visakhapatnam is the glorious son of Gnanapuram along with somany other priests and sisters from Gnanapuram working in the Vineyard of Christ.