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Our Lady of Piety ChurchKone, Karwar

A Brief History of the Church

The history of Our Lady of Piety, Kone dates back to the times when the Padroado Missionaries came here to look after the spiritual welfare of the Catholic settlers from Goa and a few local converts. A large part of the present Karwar town was a marshy place but as the place got filled up a township developed and more and more people came and settled here since Karwar became the district headquarters. The small Church which was the enlarged version of an earlier Chapel, was the Spiritual Centre of all the Catholics from Kodibag, Baithkhol, Sezwad to Kone until a separate Church was built in Kajubag to take care mostly of the government servants who were migrants from the Propaganda Jurisdiction in South Kanara.
The present Church building with its concrete pillars and beams is the first concrete building in the town of Karwar. The building that began somewhere in 1942 was completed and blessed in 1947 and stands as a monument to the determination, the spirit of sacrifice, the faith and self-respect of a people who were economically poor but not in spirit and mind. They contributed through kind, labour and cash, collected funds locally and in Bombay through donations, raffles and fancy fete. No help was received from the Church authorities at all – a great achievement indeed! Late Fr. S. Carvalho who came after the construction of the new building gave the finishing touches and put up the steps. He and Msgr. A. Gracias are remembered with love by people of the older generation for what they have done for them. 
After the reorganization of the Parishes in Karwar by the new Bishop in 1978 the Parish is reduced in area and number too. The total number of families is 120 and the total Catholic population is 450, quite a number of whom are old couples whose children have settled in Bombay or abroad. The Parish renewal that began with late Fr. A. G. Rego, an erudite scholar and pastor, continued by Fr. Anthony Lopez, Fr. Ambrose Fernandes, Msgr. Simon Tellis, has changed the attitude and ways of the people on the whole and it holds a great promise for the future. Fr Valerian Sequeira, Fr. Ireneus Dias, have served the Parish with vigour. Presently Fr. Edwin Paul D Souza is the Parish Priest..

Rev. Fr. Edwin Paul D’Souza

Parish Priest of Our Lady of Piety Church, Kone.
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Rev. Fr. Silvan Rodrigues

Resident Priest, Our Lady of Piety Church, Kone, Director of Commission for Youth and Comm. for Formation and Vocation Promotion
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Our Former Priests