History of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Kanajar
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Location :

Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in Kanajar village of Udupi district. The church comes under the jurisdiction of Udupi Diocese.

History :

Kanajar, a beautiful place at the interior coast of Karnataka in Karkala taluk, is surrounded by hills and mountains with rich vegetation. Before 1930, faithful residing at Kanajar as well from the surrounding villages called Ninjoor, Palli, Kowdoor and Bailoor had to travel to the distant parishes of Attur and Moodubelle for their spiritual needs. Bearing this in mind, Rev. Fr.Casmir Fernandes, the priest of Moodubelle parish, thought of establishing a parish in Kanajar. Inspired by him, his assistant vicar Rev. Fr. William Antony Lewis took over the responsibility of the project. At the time, the villages of Kowdoor and Bailoor were affiliated to Attur parish, while the villages of Kanajar, Ninjoor and Palli were affiliated to Moodubelle parish. It was a daunting task at that time to build up a Christian organization amongst the other religions. Fr. Lewis had chosen sites near Ninjoor as well near Palli. But when people came to know about the purpose, they set back from selling the land. But finally he managed to get a site near a place called “Madmalkal”, which means Bride’s Rock. The land measured 4.57 acre and was purchased from Das Hegde for an amount of Rs.240 in the year 1932. The fund was raised during the Confraternity feast of Moodubelle parish for the above mentioned noble cause.

Madmalkal, or the Bride’s Rock, has its own legend. In olden days, if a bride prayed at the rock by offering flowers to it, the next day she would get enough jewelry at the rock for her wedding. But after the wedding was over the jewelry had to be returned back to the rock. But once a selfish lady had kept a trinket for herself from the jewelry while returning it back to the rock. So the miracle ceased to happen from that day. Also the legend tells that, a big seven headed shining serpent used to appear around the rock during nights. To overcome this blind belief, Fr. William Lewis built a cross over this rock in 1932.

A well was dug and a cemetery was formed on the land during this time. Rev. Fr. Salvadore D’Souza, then the vicar of Attur parish, suggested that the parish be devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes, which was subsequently sanctioned by the then Bishop Victor Rosario Fernandes. This is how Our Lady of Lourdes became the patron of the parish.

In 1933, a shelter was built by Fr. William Lewis. It was built out of wooden pillars and thatched roof. Every Sunday, Fr. Lewis used to come from Hangarkatte, close to Moodubelle by walking to celebrate the mass at Kanajar. The first mass was celebrated on April 25, 1933 by Rev. Fr. William Lewis with twenty seven Christian families. In the weekdays the thatched structure was used for the primary schooling of the children. On 24 April 1934, the parish feast was celebrated for the first time in the history of Our Lady Of Lourdes Church, Kanajar. Rev. Fr. Julian D’Souza presided over the mass and the sermon was preached by Fr. Denis Lewis. In the subsequent years, in the month of October, a caucus used to take place for the discussions on the parish feast and to decide its precentor. As the expense of luncheon for the priests attending the feast, ten families from each ward had to owe 8 annas. At the time the annual due towards the church was 1 rupee.

After two years, Fr. Lewis thought of building a chapel and the Presbytery. A caucus was held, which was attended by the heads of several families. People promised full support for the cause. On February 25 1934, the foundation stone was laid and was blessed by Bishop Victor R. Fernandes.

Bullock carts were arranged for the transport of materials. People came in turns and offered their selfless service. Fr. Lewis used to offer them tea. But the people had to carry their own tiffins for their lunch. For the necessary wood for the chapel, the Parish Priest purchased timber from Meenakshi Hegde of Kowdoor. There was a severe shortage of funds, which resulted in the delay of the work.The Parish Priest traveled to Bombay to raise the funds for the noble cause. During this time his health deteriorated. But he was not let down by the patron, Our Lady Of Lourdes. Money started flowing in like a rainy stream and the construction work was completed. The chapel was inaugurated on July 24, 1938 and was blessed by Bishop Victor R. Fernandes.

After inauguration of the presbytery, Fr. Lewis took his residence in Kanajar. A school had already been started in the presbytery. Before that, Bailur Subbayya Hegde was managing a school at Varvadi, near Kanajar, which he subsequently closed due to lack of students. The Parish Priest purchased that school with all its belongings and started a school in the presbytery. He himself became the headmaster of the said school. A teachers' quarters with thatched roof was built, which was subsequently converted into a tiled roof.

When the number of students in the school increased, a separate building was built with pillars and truss beams. While the construction work was on, the pillars began to shake while the truss beams were raised onto them. Priest rushed to church and prayed to Our Lady of Lourdes. He returned and asked them to raise the beams again and they were eventually placed firmly over the pillars.

The school, devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes was upgraded into a higher primary school in 1950. Mrs. Veronica Lewis was appointed as the first headmistress of the new school.

Rev. Fr. William Lewis thought in the direction of measures that would bring revenue to the church. He bought the land at Hadankoli near Kanajar, which was auctioned by the court. The amount for this land was borrowed from Kankanady Fr. Muller’s hospital’s fund. The Parish Priest repaid the amount through annual installments. Also he purchased land (where the present post office stands) from Eliyal Gopa Mada. Commercial shop rooms for renting were built on this site, while the remainder was converted into fields for agriculture. Also there was land in front of the church, which was owed to church by Kowdoor Meenakshi Hegadti, because when her daughter went out of mind, the Priest had prayed over her daughter. As a result she was cured through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes miraculously. Houses were built on this site which were subsequently rented. With these developments, the Parish Priest ventured into the construction of a new church building in 1943. The foundation stone was blessed and laid by Bishop Victor. R. Fernandes. The Belfry was built by the masons who hailed from Coimbatore.

While constructing the new church building, Rev. Fr. Lewis sought the guidance of Rev. Fr. Buthello the Parish Priest of Belman who used to visit here to give his advice. The altar was designed by the Jeppu workshop. It took 5 years to complete the new church building. On April 26 1948, the church was inaugurated and was blessed by Bishop Victor. R. Fernandes. The altar was consecrated on the next day of the inauguration of the church. The titular feast was celebrated in a grand manner every 11th of February in the subsequent years. Fr. Lewis strived hard to rejuvenate the faith of the parishioners. Retreats and other prayers were conducted every year. He encouraged the parishioners to recite rosary in church as well at homes. The pious organizations such as Third Order of St.Francis, The altar boy’s sodality, The men’s sodality and the girl’s sodality were established.In 1958. On the occasion of the centennial celebrations of the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes, Kanajar church was declared as a pilgrimage center. Several pilgrims from far off places visited here. The Parish Priest had organized a new program during this time. Everyday in the evening, people from each ward came in procession to the church, with the emblem of Our Lady of Lourdes at the front and praying rosary. The church ceremony included Adoration Benediction, Readings on Marian devotion and sermons. On the concluding day, all the people joined in the procession with mass being held at the church. The ritual was really magnificent. The Parish Priest had purchased land from the government for a playground for the school. Also he had the desire to raise a cross on Hadankoli hilltop. So he purchased 17 acre land on the hill and planted cashews on it.

Finally in 1957, the founder Parish Priest, Fr. William Lewis was transferred to Attur parish as vicar. Later he was appointed as Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese and after the death of Bishop Peris, he became vicar capitular of the Mangalore Diocese.

Fr. William rendered his valuable service to this Parish in the best of his capacities in various fields like Spiritual, Moral, Social, Pastoral and Educational. He won the hearts of all the people of this vicinity without caste, creed and religion. He breathed his last on 25th January, 1982 at Fr. Muller’s hospital. His mortal remains were interred in the Portico of Our Lady of Lourdes church, Kanajar.

In 1963, the silver jubilee of formation of the parish was celebrated during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Santhan Fernandes (1959 - 67). A convent of Bethany sisters was also established. The priest had an unexpected death and his mortal remains were laid to rest inside the church.

The golden jubilee of the ordination of Msgr. William Antony Lewis was grandly celebrated during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Jose Menezes (1977-86). Fr. Jose worked out for the burial of the mortal remains of Msgr. Fr. William Lewis, at the parish. The belfry was constructed, the bells being bought from France. Catholic Youth Movement was formed.

Chapter of Catholic Sabha Mangalore region was formed during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Albert Menezes (1986-91).

A cross was built on the top of Hadankoli hill during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Alex Aranha (1991-98). Mass is conducted on this hill top every palm Sunday. A parish hall was constructed in memory of the late Msgr William A Lewis.

To strengthen the bonds between different households, Small Christian Communities were formed at ward levels during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Remigius Aranha (1998-2004). The diamond jubilee of the formation of the parish was celebrated in a grand manner on February 11, 1999. The day's mass was conducted by Bishop Aloysius P D'Souza with many other priests. Lunch was provided to all the people, which was prepared by the parishioners together. A stage program was organized in the evening which was presided over by the Bishop and other dignitaries. A Catholic hospital named Lourdes Hospital was inaugurated on February 11, 2003. The Rs. 1 crore project was undertaken by Kanajar Welfare Association, which is an association of parishioners in the Gulf region and Mumbai.

A new grotto was constructed in front of the church and it was grandly inaugurated on February 11, 2006, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes during the tenure of parish priest Fr. Alwyn D’Cunha (2004-2011). The ICYM unit of Kanajar celebrated its silver jubilee on February 19, 2006. The parish bulletin "Lourdesachi Zhar" was inaugurated with the first issue published on February 19, 2006. A 1000-seater auditorium "Kanajar Sauharda Bhavan" was constructed for the benefit of all Kanajareans and was inaugurated on April 18, 2009.

The renovated church with an expanded capacity and an elegant face-lift was inaugurated on November 29, 2010 by Bishop Aloysius P D'Souza. The inauguration was followed by the blessing of the newly built grotto by the Bishop. He concelebrated the Holy Mass in the company of more than 30 guest priests. The homily was preached by parish priest of Cascia church, Fr Vincent Victor Menezes.

The mass was followed by a felicitation programme. Dr Baptist Menezes, episcopal vicar of Udupi district, was the chief guest while Fr John A Barboza, vicar forane of Karkala deanery, along with H Gopal Bhandary, Karkala MLA, participated as guests of honour. The chief guests, in their addresses, appreciated and commended the hard work rendered by Fr Alwyn D’Cunha, parish priest and the parishioners. More than 2000 people were present at the function. A sumptuous meal was served to all at the end of the programme.

The 5 day celebrations during this time began with the head-load offerings and culminated with the parish feast.

The platinum jubilee of the founding of Kanajar parish was celebrated throughout the year culminating with the valedictory jubilee celebrations on May 16, 2013 during the tenure of parish priest Rev Dr John Mendonca (2011-2014).

The jubilee mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Udupi diocese Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo along with vicar general of the diocese Msgr Baptist Menezes, vicar forane of Karkala Fr John A Barboza and parish priest Fr John Mendonca. There were 14 other priests from the neighbouring parishes who attended the jubilee celebration service.

Soon after the mass, all the parishioners and guests gathered at Kanajar Souhardha Bhavan for a stage programme. The bishop presided over the function. The special souvenir to mark the platinum jubilee celebration was released by the chief guest Msgr Baptist Menezes. Lunch was then served to all the parishioners and guests and people from other communities.

In June 2014 Fr John Mendonca was appointed as the Judicial Vicar of the newly formed Udupi Diocese and got transferred there for the diocesan duties.

Rev. Fr. Alexander Lewis took over reigns as the parish priest for the period 2014-2021. The priest who was known for building schools in the past repeated the same feat at Kanajar too. A magnificent project of Lourdes English Medium School (ICSE syllabus) at Kanajar was realized and completed during his tenure. The existing Lourdes Higher Primary School (Kannada medium) that had seen decline in the number of students was discontinued.

Fr. Vishal Lobo is serving as the parish priest from 2021 onwards.

Parish Priests who have served in the parish :

Msgr. William Antony Lewis - Founder Parish Priest (1938-1957)

Fr. Francis-DSouza (1957 - 1958)

Fr. Ligory D’Souza (1958 - 1959)

Fr. Santhan Fernandes (1959 - 1967)

Fr. Charles Saldanha (1967-1974)

Fr. Norbert Fernandes (1974)

Fr. Francis Serrao (1975-1977)

Fr. Jose Menezes (1977-1986)

Fr. Albert Menezes (1986-1991)

Fr. Alex Aranha (1991-1998)

Fr. Remigius Aranha (1998-2004)

Fr. Alwyn D’Cunha (2004-2011)

Fr. John Mendonca (2011-2014)

Fr. Alexander Lewis (2014-2021)

Fr. Vishal Lobo (from 2021 onwards)

Compiled by Catholic Time Staff with inputs from lourdeschurchkanajar.com

Last updated in Dec, 2021.

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