The following December Pope John Paul II granted the honorific title of Minor Basilica to the church.

Documents related to the raising of the status of the Our Lady of Ransom Church on the island were delivered to the Archbishop of Varappuzha Daniel Acharuparampil by the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo.

The picture of the Virgin 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 Vallarpadam there was a young Nair lady named Meenakshi Amma, who was a member of a noble family called Palliyil Veedu.

Miguel Correa, asked the fishermen to cast net in the river, and Meenakshi Amma and her son were rescued.