Rev. Fr. Viliet Fernandes
Priest in Charge of Holy Cross Church, Manki
Holy Cross ChurchManki
As one visits the Church of Holy Cross, Manki, one finds a big Cross-monument in front of the Church. On close scrutiny we find there the name of Msgr. Honaratio Silva, a man held in high esteem in Manki, as the Parish Priest and pioneer of the Church and the surrounding villages. The Church at Manki is supposed to have been established in 1888. It was a Chapel under Gulmona till 1891. It was erected as a Parish on 19-2-1896. The majority of the people of Manki are fisherfolk who embark their boat for fishing from the shore close to the Church. Naturally as they go and as they return the site of the Church invokes in their mind a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving. The sound and fury of the monsoons as also the roar of the waves have often beckoned the parishioners to the Church quarters to pray for their near and dear ones, and in necessity and emergency, the whole village irrespective of caste and creed becomes one, invoking the succour of the Cross.
For long, Manki was served by Franciscan missionaries like Fr. Paul Fernandes, Fr. Rolphy D’Silva, Fr. Moras etc. It was when Fr. Antony Rodrigues was the Parish Priest that the old Church was demolished and the new one was constructed. Fr. Antony supervised the construction of the Presbytery too. After Fr. Antony, Fr. Joe D’Souza, Fr. Valerian Sequeira, Fr. Urban Santosh Fernandes, Fr. Jerome D Souza, Fr. Alphy D Silva have served the Parish. Presently Fr. Villet Fernandes is the present Parish Priest.
No | Year | Name of the Priests |
|---|---|---|
01 | 1896-1898 | Rev. Fr. Joao Xavier Tiago D’silva |
02 | 1898-1900 | Rev. Fr. Manuel Salvador D’Souza |
03 | 1900-1903 | Rev. Fr. Vincent Sebestian D’Mello |
04 | 1903-1909 | Rev. Fr. Antonio Manuel Sutorio Almeida |
05 | 1909-1911 | Rev. Fr. Philip Neri Joao Manuel Pereira |
06 | 1892-1897 | Fr. Joaquem Xavier do Piedade Saldanha |
07 | 1911-1916 | Rev. Fr. Antonio Joao da Piadade Furtado |
08 | 1916-1925 | Rev. Fr. Remedios de Rozario Gomes |
09 | 1925-1936 | Rev. Fr. Francisco Xavier Gracio |
10 | 1936-1943 | Rev. Fr. Jose Camilo Sutorio Gomes |
11 | 1943-1966 | Rev. Fr. Honaratio D’Silva |
12 | 1966-1970 | Rev. Fr. Thomas D’Silva |
13 | 1970-1972 | Rev. Fr. Sebestian Fernandes |
14 | 1975-1980
| Rev. Fr. Cornelius D’Souza OFM |
15 | 1980-1986
| Rev. Fr. Alphonse Moraes OFM |
16 | 1986-1989
| Rev. Fr. Cornelius D’Souza OFM |
17 | 1989-1995 | Rev. Fr. Anthony Rodrigues |
18 | 1995-2001
| Rev. Fr. Joseph D’Souza |
19 | 2001-2002
| Rev. Fr. Valerian Sequeira |
20 | 2002-2008 | Rev. Fr. Urban Santosh Fernandes |
21 | 2008-2015 | Rev. Fr. Jerome D’Souza |
22 | 2015-2018 | Rev. Fr. Michale Pinto |
23 | 2018-2021
| Rev. Fr. Alphy D’Silva |
24 | 2021-onwards
| Rev. Fr. Vilet Fernandes |
