Our Lady of Lourdes ChurchMundalli - Bhatkal
A Brief History of the Church
For most of the official work, fixing of marriage etc. people from Bhatkal always had to go to Murdeshwar and this was inconvenient for the people. Meanwhile the Franciscans (O.F.M.) were searching for a Mission in North Kanara. It was in 1974, that the Bhatkal mission was offered to the Franciscans. It was during Franciscan Pastoral Ministry that the present Parish Church was built and raised to the status of a Parish in 1983. On 23rd March 1989, Bhatkal was given to the Franciscans “in perpetuum” and the Bhatkal Parish is now under the care of the Franciscan Order of St. Thomas Province in India. The Church has its own cemetery behind the Church building on the hill slope, which has also a history of over 60 years. There is a sizeable portion of the Catholic population of Bhatkal Parish in the Muglihonda area. Fr. Nicholas D’Souza OFM wisely thought that the people there deserved a Chapel and so laid the foundation for the new Chapel at Muglihonda. Fr. Lawrence Pereira completed the building work in 1986. Though it bears the name St. Joseph’s Church”, it is only a sub-station (Chapel) of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Mundalli. It is situated about 4 km to the south from Bhatkal bus stop on the Bhatkal-Mangalore road. Fr. Valerian Quadros O.F.M. is the present Parish Priest and he took charge from Fr. Dharma Bernard O.F.M. on 6 June 1998.
Our Former Priests
No | Year | Name of the Priests |
---|---|---|
01 | 1974 – 1974 | Fr. Paul Fernandes |
02 | 1974 | Fr. Nicholas D’Souza |
03 | 1976 – 1979 | Fr. Angel D’mello |
04 | 1979 – 1980 | Fr. Paul Fernandes |
05 | 1980 – 1983 | Fr. Simon Pinto |
06 | 1983 – 1986 | Fr. Nicholas D’Souza |
07 | 1986 – 1989 | Fr. Lawrence Pereira |
08 | 1989 – 1992 | Fr. Valentine Crasta |
09 | 1992 – 1998 | Fr. Dharma L. Bernard |
10 | 1998 – 2004 | Fr. Valerian Quadros |
11 | 2004 – 2007 | Fr. Cajetan Laurenco |
12 | 2007 – 2010 | Fr. Alphonse Moras |
13 | 2010 – 2014 | Fr. Balthazar Pinto |
14 | 2014 – 2016 | Fr. Alwyn D’Souza |
15 | 2016 | Fr. Prashanth Fernandes |
16 | 2016 – 2020 | Fr. Nicholas D’Souza |
17 | 2020 – 2021 | Fr. Cajetan Laurenco |
18 | 2021- Onwards | Fr. Prem Kumar D’Souza |