St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Baramulla)

St. Joseph's Catholic Church
St. Joseph's Catholic Church
Coordinates: 34°12′13″N 74°21′07″E / 34.203620°N 74.352078°E / 34.203620; 74.352078
Location Baramulla
Country India
Denomination Roman Catholic
Weekly attendance 20
History
Status Parish Church
Founded 1891 (1891)
Founder(s) Mill Hill Missionaries
Dedication Saint Joseph
Architecture
Functional status Active
Architectural type Gothic
Specifications
Capacity 500
Bells 1 (1)
Administration
Parish St. Joseph's Parish
Archdiocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi
Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of Jammu–Srinagar
Clergy
Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto
Bishop(s) Ivan Pereira
Vicar(s) Fr. Jose Vadakkel

St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in Baramulla[1][2][3], Jammu and Kashmir, India[4][5]. It was established in 1891, by Mill Hill Missionaries, making it the oldest Catholic church in Jammu and Kashmir,[6] and currently belongs to the Jammu Srinagar Diocese.[7][8] St. Joseph's Church, St. Joseph's Hospital and St. Joseph's School are located in the same campus. It is the only church in the town, and there are only few Christian families in the community.

History

St. Joseph's Church was started by Mill Hill Missionaries who came from The Apostolic Prefecture of Kafirstan and Kashmir, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore. After Mill Hill Missionaries left mission it was taken care by Capuchin Fathers. Later on it was looked after by Society of Jesus and is now part of the Diocese of Jammu Srinagar. Father Jim Borst MHM, one of the well known pioneers and former Parish Priest, lives in Srinagar City.

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 noted:

At Baramulla, in Kashmir, Father Simon, assisted by a staff of twelve lay teachers, conducts an important school for native Kashmir boys. The pupils number three hundred. The prefecture comprises about fifteen million inhabitants. Twelve million five hundred thousand of these are Mohammedans, two million are Hindus, five hundred thousand are Buddhists and about five thousand are Catholics.[9]

The church was affiliated to Lahore University in 1919.[10]

Persecution of local Christians

In late October 1947, leading into the Kashmir Conflict of 1947, local tribesmen attacked the church, school, and hospital, killing the Mother Superior and Assistant Mother Sister M. Teresalina Joaquina FMM.[11]

Father Jim Borst MHM, who is working in Jammu and Kashmir since 1963, including serving as the principal of St. Joseph's School, was given a Quit India Notice " from Kashmir's Foreigners Registration Office.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Dhar, D. N. (2001-01-01). Dynamics of political change in Kashmir: from ancient to modern times. Kanishka Publishers, Distributors. ISBN 9788173914188.
  2. ↑ Misra, Neelesh (2012-03-12). The Absent State. Hachette India. ISBN 9789350093665.
  3. ↑ Raina, Dina Nath (1994). Kashmir - distortions and reality. Reliance Pub. House. ISBN 9788185972527.
  4. ↑ "St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Baramulla) : IndiaFree.org". indiafree.org. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  5. ↑ "St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Baramulla, India Tourist Information". TouristLink. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  6. ↑ GreaterKashmir.com (Greater Service). "Christmas celebrated with fervor Lastupdate:- Thu, 26 Dec 2013 18:30:00 GMT GreaterKashmir.com". greaterkashmir.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  7. ↑ The Catholic Directory of India. St. Paul Publications. 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Diocese of Jammu Srinagar | A diocese was erected on September 7, 1986, with St. Mary's Jammu Cantt, as Cathedral". jammusrinagardiocese.org. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  9. ↑ Charles George Herbermann; Edward Aloysius Pace; Condé Bénoist Pallen; Thomas Joseph Shahan; John Joseph Wynne; Andrew Alphonsus MacErlean (1912). The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church. Robert Appleton Company. pp. 591–.
  10. ↑ Emanual Nahar (1 January 2007). Minority politics in India: role and impact of Christians in Punjab politics. Arun Pub. House. p. 51. ISBN 978-81-8048-085-0.
  11. ↑ John C. B. Webster (15 November 2007). A social history of Christianity: North-West India since 1800. Oxford University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-19-569045-3.
  12. ↑ Senate (U S) Committee on Foreign Relations (August 2005). Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, 2004. Government Printing Office. pp. 638–. ISBN 978-0-16-072552-4.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.