Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour is situated at Kalathur South, in Udupi District of Karnataka. Initially, Kalathur was part of the Shirva and Kenha parishes. The Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour had been in existence for nearly 107 years. The present day church was built after demolishing the chapel. Kalathur parish came into existence on June 7, 1971. The new church was inaugurated on May 15, 1972.
When Kalathur attained the status of a parish in 1971, Yermal chapel which served from Shirva parish, came under the jurisdiction of Kalathur. Fr Charles Saldanha of Kalathur built the parochial house in 1974, a well was dug and coconut, cashew and other fruit trees were planted. This was followed up by subsequent parish priests Fr Thomas Dsouza, Fr J B Crasta, Fr Alfred Pinto in later years, by offering their services to develop the church and the area.
In the year 1990 – 93 Fr Alfred Pinto submitted a request to the Bishop of Mangalore to start a church in this area. Due to these efforts, Yermal became an independent parish on May 25, 1993 and Fr Peter Nazareth became the first parish priest.
Golden Jubilee celebration of Kalathur Church :
Perpetual Succour Church, Kalathur celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of the church on 01st December, 2021.
Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac lobo, Bishop of Udupi Diocese celebrated the holy Eucharist along with Rev. Fr Lawrence D’Souza, Parish Priest of Kalathur church: V. Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa, Dean of Shirva Deanery; Rev. Fr Chetan Lobo, PRO of Udupi Diocese; Rev. Fr Stephen D’Souza, Director of Divya Jyothi; V. Rev. Fr Stany Tauro, Dean of Kundapur Deanery; Rev. Fr Ferdinand Gonsalves, Director of Laity Commission and other priests from Udupi and Mangalore dioceses. V. Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa preached a meaningful homily.
After the mass, the felicitation programme was held at church ground. Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo; Mr Vinay Kumar Sorake, Former MLA of Kaup constancy: Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa, ; Janab Abdul Rasheed, Kathib of Badriya Jumma Masjid, Majur- Mallar; Mrs Latha S. Achar, President of Kuthyaru Grama Panchayath; Rev. Fr Lawrence D’Souza, Parish Priest of Kalathur and others were present on the dais.
Mrs Felcy Mendonca read the brief report of Kalathur church for the past 50 years. V. Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa, Mr Vinay Kumar Sorake, Janab Abdul Rasheed and Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac lobo addressed the gathering on this occasion and congratulated the parish priest and the parishioners. V. Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa released the parish magazine.
Former parish Priests, Priests and Religious from the Parish, Former and Present vice-presidents, secretaries, Gurkars, donors and well-wishers, Rev. Fr Denis D’Sa and Rev. Fr Lawrence D’Souza were felicitated by the dignitaries. The programme concluded with lunch.
Parish Priests who have served in the parish :
- Fr Charles Saldanha
- Fr Thomas Dsouza
- Fr John Baptist Crasta (1985 - 90)
- Fr Alfred John Pinto (1990 - 93)
- Fr Francis Cornelio (2014 - 16)
- Fr Lawrence B. D'Souza (2016 - 22)
- Fr Francis Xavier Lewis (from 2022 onwards)
(Complete list will be updated soon)
Compiled by Catholic Time Staff
Last updated in June 2022.
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