You mention Wild Life Sanctuary in U.K.District, and you are in the Gund Mission of St. Anthony! Situated in the heart of the forest, Gund is about 35 kms. from Dandeli. It speaks volumes of the grit and Determined spirit of the Priests who have served in the Gund Mission, that they have been successful in nurturing the faith of the people, inspite of several odds and inconveniences.
The present day Christians of Gund are said to have been people of the working class who migrated from Goa to the Gund area to work in the fields of the landlords. The Priests in those good old days came from even as far as Londa to tend the flock at Gund. From 1964, the Gund Mission came under Dandeli Parish and the Priests resident in Dandeli rendered regular services in the course of years to the people of Gund, with Eucharistic celebration almost once a week. special mention has to be made of Brother Xavier Braggs for his untiring missionary efforts to raise the faith level of the people as also initiate literacy and developmental activities. Fr. John Abel D’Souza was the first resident Priest in-charge appointed in 1991 and he was succeeded by Fr. Reginald Pinto, who made good use of his time and energy in this “wilderness parish” by translating The Catechism of the Catholic Church into Konkani Bhavarthachem Dirvem, which has brought much credit to the Diocese as one of the very few vernacular translations of the book. Fr. Reginald was ably assisted in this work at Gund by Fr. Henry D’Mello. Incidentally, Bhavarthachem Dirvem was handed over to the Pope in Rome by Fr. Nathaniel Cruz of our Diocese. Fr. Urban Santosh Fernandes, Fr. Antony Gonsalves, Fr. Cyril D Souza, Fr. William D Souza, Fr. Natvidade Rodrigues have served the parish. Presently Fr. Remend Fernandes is the Priest in-charge of the Gund Mission