St. John the Baptist Church, Kumta

St. John the Baptist ChurchKumta

A Brief History of the Church

The figure of Msgr. John Salvador Antonio da Veiga looms large in the minds and hearts of the present generation of Christians in Kumta. He died on 10.10.1986 and is laid to rest in the Church cemetery after a record 44 years stint (1939-1983) as the Parish Priest of this Church. It is said that as Shepherd of this flock at Kumta he had baptised and seen the growth of 3 generations of his Parishioners. The Parishioners of Kumta also take pride in the fact that the Saintly Priest of the Pilar Congregation, Fr. Agnelo D’Souza whose cause for Sainthood has been taken up, was in Kumta from 1910- 1917.
The historical facts suggest that a Chapel existed in Kumta since 1845. It was rebuilt in another place twice, in 1867 and 1882. The Chapel was elevated to the status of a Parish Church on 31-3-1897. This Church was demolished in 1946 and the foundation stone for the new Church was laid on 14-10-1946 when Msgr. Veiga was the Parish Priest. This Church was in blessed on 14-2-1950. Fr. Fernando Menezes, Fr Britto D Silva, Fr. Thomas Misquith have served the parish with vigour and zeal.
When Fr. Paul Sequeira, undertook the repairs and renovation of the roof of the Church, an unfortunate accident occurred. On 15th May 2000, as the slab work was in progress, the freshly laid concrete caved in. Though it was a traumatic moment for him and the Diocese, Fr. Paul was able to resume the repair work on 4th Dec. 2000 and complete by the end of May 2001, the entire renovation job, to the satisfaction of all. After him Fr. Salvadore Gonsalves, Fr John Rodrigues, Fr Urban Santosh Fernandes have served the Parish. Presently Fr. Chrysostom Rodrigues is the Parish Priest.

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St. Joseph’s Church, Mirjan

St. Joseph's ChurchMirjan

A Brief History of the Church

With late Fr. Aloysius Rego of happy memories as the first Priest-in-charge, was inaugurated on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord on 2nd Feb.1979 the Mission unit of St. Joseph’s Church, Mirjan. A man of learning and stern qualities of head and heart, he was later on referred to affectionately as “Sultan Rego”, on his assuming charge at Mirjan! The reference to Sultan was obvious as in Mirjan lies, presently in ruins, the old fort of Tipu Sultan. Curious to historians, the Statue of St. Francis kept in the Church at Chandavar, is supposed to have been picked up from the backwaters of Mirjan. Till it was made an independent unit, the Chapel at Mirjan was administered by the Priests from Kumta Parish.
Fr. Lawrence D’Souza, who succeeded Fr. Aloysius Rego supervised the construction of the new Church at Mirjan, which was inaugurated on 19th March 1992. Fr. Navil Rodrigues served the Parish for some time. The Pilar fathers to mark the bicentenary of the service of Very Rev. Father Agnello wanted to serve in the diocese of Karwar and Most Rev. Dr. William D Mello offered them St. Joseph’s parish Mirjan and they with love for the church and for the mission took over the mission and serving in the parish since then.

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  • St.Joseph's Church, Mirjan, Kumta
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