Location :
Bela Church, also Our Lady of Sorrows Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the Kasaragod district of Kerala state, South India, 15 km north of Kasaragod, 50km away from Mangalore.
Bela Catholic Parish is one of the ancient parishes of the Diocese of Mangalore. This is the oldest parish in the Kasaragod district. The mother tongue of the Catholics is Konkani.
Beginning :
Due to some calamities in Portuguese ruled Goa and the fear of captivity by Tippu Sultan, thousands of Konkani Catholics migrated to South Canara and some parts of Kasargod district. To meet the spiritual needs of these people, these migrated Catholics at Kudrepady built a small thatched church. For better convenience it was shifted to Bela, the present location in 1880.
About the Old Church:
The Bela parish was established in the year 1880, separating from Ullal-Panir. The first Parish Priest was Rev Fr Pascal Mascarenhas. Rev. Fr. John D' Souza was the second parish priest who selected the present elevated place and constructed a small but beautiful church, which was blessed on 10-01-1892 by Most Rev. Dr. Pagani, the first Bishop of Mangalore Diocese. The statue of the Mother of Sorrows was lifted to this church from Kudrepady with great solemnity.
About the New Church:
Rev. Fr. Matthew Vas took up the responsibility of building up the new church. This church was blessed on 22-11-2001. About 1000 people can comfortably be seated in the church. This church is dedicated to the Mother of Dolours (Sorrows).
Parish Priests who have served in the Parish :
- Fr Pascal Mascarenhas (1880 - first parish priest)
- Fr. John D' Souza
- Fr Valerian Rodrigues (1985 - 1991)
- Fr Paul D'Souza (1991 - 1998)
- Fr. Matthew Vas (1998 - 2004)
- Fr Basil Vas (2004 - 2010)
- Fr Vincent D’Souza (Sr) (2010 - 2017)
- Fr Valerian Frank (2017 - 18)
- Fr John Vas (2018 - 21)
- Fr Stany Pereira (from 2021 onwards)
(Complete list will be updated soon)
Compiled by Catholic Time Staff
Last updated in Dec 2021.
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