Udupi: Mount Rosary Church, Kallianpur-Journey from thatched roof to magnificent structure

Compiled by Eugene DSouza
Pics by Alphonse Mendonca
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 03 Jan 2015: Mount Rosary Church is  situated at a distance of 63 kms to the north of Mangalore and 5 kms from Udupi,  and is surrounded by Kallianpur-Milagres, Kemannu, Thottam, Kolalgiri, Brahmavar, and Udupi parises. It is strategically located close to the NH 66. Comprising of 443  families, Mount Rosary Parish has a Catholic population of over 1300.
The magnificent newly constructed Mount Rosary Church will be inaugurated and consecrated by the Bishop of Udupi, Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo on Tuesday, January 6, 2015. It took nearly two and half years to complete the construction of the church.

 

On the occasion of the inauguration and blessing of the newly built church, it would be quite interesting to know its  history and growth from a simple thatched roof to a magnificent sturcture since its inception in 1837.

 

During the Padraodo-Propaganda controversy, a large number of Catholic families withdrew from their parish church of Our Lady of Miracles (Milagres), Kallianpur. While a good number of the parishioners of Kallianpur-Milagres were loyal to the Goan Bishop of Karwar, 42 families acknowledged the jurisdiction of Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly and built a new thatched roof church in 1837 not far away from the Milagres church on the land donated by Anthony Rebello of Thonse. It was later moved to the Nejar Hill nearby and rebuilt in 1882 and was called Mount Rosary Church.

 

 

In 1880, Fr Albert D’Souza (1879-1890) decided to build a new church and the location was shifted to Nejar Hill.  The foundation stone of the new church was blessed by the then Bishop of Mangalore Most Rev. Pagani on 26 November 1880. Due to paucity of funds, Fr Albert D’Souza  could not complete the church. At this juncture, Mathias Rebello of Thonse pledged his property, took a loan and completed the church building. The first mass was in the newly constructed  tiled roof church building was offered on 14 May 1882. On 9 January 1883, the statue of Holy Rosary was installed in the church. The church also got some land from the Patel, Ignatius Fernandes.

 

The expansion of the church was done at gradual stages. Fr J.M. Masse (1890-1916) built  the presbytery in 1895 and Fr John Salvadore Mathais constructed  the portico.  Fr Piedade Saldanha (1931-1938) built a shrine  to commemorate the centenary of the church in 1937.  Fr Rosario Denis Sequeira (1957-1967) built the grotto.

 

The sesqui-centennial (1837-1987) celebrations were held in 1987 during the time of Fr Victor Saldanha. The cost of construction of the new  belfry was donated in memory of late Louis and Leticia Rebello by their family members. The newly erected belfry was inaugurated on January 30, 1999.  Fr Godfrey Saldanha completed the church hall which was inaugurated on January 4, 2001 by  Most Rev Dr Leo Cornelio of Khandwa diocese who is presently the Archbishop of Bhopal.

 

Realizing the need to spread education among the girls a primary school for them was started in 1925 and it was handed over to the Carmelite Sisters in 1933.  On June 1, 1958 Lourdes Hospital built by Msgr R Denis Sequeira was inaugurated which was handed over to the Sisters of the Queen of the Apostles in 1962.

 

Realizing the importance of English education following the liberalization and globalization policy of the government, Fr Godfrey Linus Aurelius Saldanha began Mount Rosary English Medium School in 1997.  The new school building was inaugurated on June 1, 1999.

 

Mount Rosary Church completed 175 years of existence in 2012. In order to mark the event and provide sufficient space to the ever increasing parishioners, Parish Priest Fr. Philip Neri Aranha who had taken charge of the parish since 2010 in consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council and the parishioners in general decided to rebuild the church.

 

In order to raise the new church, a prominent site where the previous Mount Rosary church existed was selected. The foundation stone was blessed by the  Bishop of Mangalore Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza during the Mass that was held at the Millennium auditorium on March 3, 2012 and the laid at the site in the presence of a large number of  parishioners  including Jerry Vincent Dias-Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council,  Secretary Richard Dias and former Vice Presidents- Stany Cornelio, Prof Ligory Aranha and Benedict Menezes.

 

The construction work of the church went on for 2 years and 9 months. As a result of  meticulous planning and sustained work ably supervised by Fr. Philip Neri Aranha supported by Jerry Vincent Dias, Richard Dias and others the work of the new church is completed to the delight of all the parishioners.

 

With an imposing structure and elegant exterior, the church is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate 1200 faithful. The church is 115 feet long, 76 feet wide and 60 feet high. The  chief attraction of the church is the high altar which has been superbly executed by renowned artists and architects from Korathi, Kerala. They have carved a beautiful altar with great care and dedication. The church has an adoration chapel which is fully air-conditioned. The wooden cross on the high altar, the tinted glass windows depicting different episodes from the Bible, the mosaic style Way of the Cross, the beautiful statues of saints and above all, the statue of Our Lady of Mount Rosary are the chief attractions of the church.

 

 

Another grand feature that mesmerizes visitors to the church is the huge single fan imported from Canada. With lengthy blades, its cool breeze is sufficient to make the entire congregation in the church comfortable. This gigantic fan is the first of its kind in the entire Karnataka state. In addition, the new church has a presbytery by its side for the residence of priests, belfry, two attractive welcome arches-one from Kallianpur road and the other from Kemmannu road. The surrounding area of the church is paved with interlocks which add ambience to the church.

 

The newly built Mount Rosary Church will be inaugurated and blessed on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 by the Bishop of Udupi Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo.