Rev. Fr. Lino Lopes
Rector of St. John Bosco Church (SDB ), Sirsi.
Don Bosco ChurchHubli Road, Sirsi.
In 1982 Rev. Fr. Michael Kattakayam, started a High School which actually began as a Primary School in St. Anthony’s Church Compound. Some unpleasant circumstances coerced Fr. Michael Kattakayam to shift the High School on Hubli road, Sirsi. Therefore, Fr. Kattakayam bought a plot of land and set up a residence for himself calling it “Deva Krapa” which is now the presbytery of the St. John Bosco Church. Simultaneously, St. Anthony’s Eng. Medium School building was also constructed and for over thirteen years the School was well run and developed.at Hubli road Sirsi.
In 1995 the late Bishop William De Mello of Karwar Diocese invited the Salesians to take over
the establishment at Deva Krapa along with the above-mentioned School, with a request to construct and establish a new Parish.
The Salesian Provincial accepted the offer from the Bishop and proposed St. John Bosco to
be the Patron of the Parish. The Bishop approved the suggestion and accordingly, on the evening of May 16, 1995, amidst a gathering of parishioners, the diocesan clergy and the Salesians, the School was handed over to the Salesians.
The handing over ceremony took place in the School hall above the residence of Deva Krapa.
Fr Lawrence D’Souza was appointed Parish Priest with Fr. Felix Fernandes as his Assistant.
There were more or less 80 families belonging to the main Parish of St. Anthony at Sirsi,
to be the parishioners of the St. John Bosco Parish. Initially, the ministry of liturgical and religious services was held in the School Hall above the residence from May 1995 till 1999,
The Mass Center at Ekkambi comprising of nearly 50 families which is 16 kms also had to be taken care of pastorally.
In 1996, Fr. Michael Mascarenhas took over as the Parish Priest from Fr. Lawrence D’souza.
A year later in June 1997 Fr. Leandro Gracias came as an assistant Parish Priest and relieved Fr. Felix Fernandes to go for his studies in Pune.
The Almighty God provided the resources. The entire cost of the building was funded by Chandrakanth Meghji Shah of Seychelles through the Propaganda office of Rev. Fr. Aurelius Maschio SDB. The foundation stone for the construction of Parish building was laid on April 20th 1997 and in two years’ time, completed and blessed by Rt. Rev. William D’mello, the Bishop of Karwar Diocese, on 11 December 1999.
Though, the parishioners could not help financially, those who could offer their mite did contribute in the measure they could. The people were poor and the Salesians who pioneered the work felt that it was pastorally fulfilling.
During his tenure of office from 1996-1999, Michael supervised the construction of the church. And the School extension block. A small multipurpose hall was also built at Marathikoppa for Medical and social services of the faithful staying in the locality.
In 1999 Fr. Michael Mascarenhas was transferred and Fr. Lawrence D’souza was appointed for a second time to take care of the Parish and School at Sirsi.
In 2000 Fr. Lino Lopes came as an assistant Parish Priest and continued till 2006
Fr. Lawrence D’souza, due to poor health condition, he had to discontinue after a year.
In 2001 Fr. Maurice Figueiredo took over from Fr. Lawrence D’souza.
He strove in his own inimitable style to organize the pastoral work in the Parish.
In 2003, Fr. Bernardino Almeida took over as the Parish Priest and worked with interest for six full years enthusiastically.
In 2009 Fr. Felix Serrao was appointed as a Parish Priest along with Fr. Leandro Gracias as an assistant Parish Priest.
Fr. Felix Serrao was succeeded by Fr. Alexinho Rodrigues as a Parish Priest from 2015 to 2021
In 2021 Fr. Lino Lopes took over the charge as the Parish along with Fr. Sandesh Fernandes.
Together as a team Fr. Lino Lopes, Fr. Sandesh Fernandes and Fr. Peter Pinto give their best pastorally.
Every Salesian team that arrived at Sirsi, has progressively developed place and the parishioners with Faith forming and educating in the best way they can. The parish with its mere 28 years history has shown remarkable progress under the stewardship of the Salesians. More and more people have settled in the Parish over the years and the Christian population has also grown rapidly and moved up the economic ladder.
At present, there about 200 Christian families with a total population of more than 700.
The school too has excelled always as one of the best schools in Sirsi, always setting new standards for academic excellence.
No | Year | Name of the Priests |
|---|---|---|
01 | 1995-1996 | Fr. Lawrence D’Souza |
02 | 1996-1999 | Fr. Michael Mascarenhas |
03 | 1999-2001 | Fr. Lawrence D’Souza |
04 | 2001-2003 | Fr. Maurice Figueiredo |
05 | 2003-2009 | Fr. Bernardino de Almeida |
06 | 2009-2015 | Fr. Felix Serrao |
07 | 2015-2021 | Fr Alexinho Rodrigues |
08 | 2021-Present | Fr. Lino Lopes |
- Don Bosco Church, 3rd Cross Hubli Rd, Sirsi, Karnataka 581402
- 08382-226451
- Mass Timings