The present
Coming back to the parish of Kandivli village, we can judge from the census figures over the last 150 years or so (published elsewhere in this Souvenir) that our parish grew gradually from around 100 parishioners to about 4391 (about 1244 families) at present, with more and more relocating here from South and Central Bombay and elsewhere. Valnai, which was affiliated to the Church of Candolim, right upto the 20th century, was constituted a separate parish on July 02,1916. Thus, from 1916 onwards, the majority of parishioners was concentrated around the church, i.e., the villages of Candolim and Maroda (Assumption Village).
Later on, the geographical area of the Parish enveloped the newly developed areas of Dahanukarwadi, Transit Camp,Mahavir Nagar, Charkop, Babrekar Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Iraniwadi, Station Area,Sai Nagar and Bandongri, Hanuman Nagar, Anna Nagar, Thakur Complex, etc., towards the East.
It was as early as in 1987 that the need was felt for a new Church, as the old Church (which was a century old if not more – of course with additions, modifications, renovations etc. being made over the years) could not accommodate the growing number of parishioners. It was at this time that a decision was taken at the Parish Council level to shift the age old graveyard at the front of the church to the rear of the school. After the requisite permissions were acquired, the graveyard was shifted in 1988-89 and which is now being rebuilt and will be inaugurated on Oct. 27, 2011.
A proposal for building a new Church was put forward by Noel Murzello, Alban Mendes, Lynn Rosario and Stanley Rebello among others, to the then Parish Priest Fr. Edward D’Souza,but was put on the back burner for some time because of lack of funds and also because a new Parish unit in Kandivli (East) – the Nativity of Our Lord – was set up in 1993, and the number of our parishioners was reduced. But this was more than made up for by the influx of people to the government/private housing complexes in the various sectors of Charkop and other areas.Thus, the new Church project was taken up in right earnest (the details of which are dealt with in another article). The old church, along with the memories it held, was demolished in 1995,paving the way for a bigger and modern place of worship which is pleasing to the eye, both in its architectural setup and in the interior design. The new Church building was blessed and consecrated on June 1, 1997.
On the momentous occasion of the Sesquicentennial Jubilee, the new Cemetery will be inaugurated and the website of our parish will also be launched, thus putting our parish on the world wide web. From its humble beginnings at Magatana, to being part of the Poinsur parish and finally standing on its own for the past 150 years, our parish is now a bustling, vibrant, globally accessible Church.
But like the poet Robert Frost said, “... I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
Coming back to the parish of Kandivli village, we can judge from the census figures over the last 150 years or so (published elsewhere in this Souvenir) that our parish grew gradually from around 100 parishioners to about 4391 (about 1244 families) at present, with more and more relocating here from South and Central Bombay and elsewhere. Valnai, which was affiliated to the Church of Candolim, right upto the 20th century, was constituted a separate parish on July 02,1916. Thus, from 1916 onwards, the majority of parishioners was concentrated around the church, i.e., the villages of Candolim and Maroda (Assumption Village).
Later on, the geographical area of the Parish enveloped the newly developed areas of Dahanukarwadi, Transit Camp,Mahavir Nagar, Charkop, Babrekar Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Iraniwadi, Station Area,Sai Nagar and Bandongri, Hanuman Nagar, Anna Nagar, Thakur Complex, etc., towards the East.
It was as early as in 1987 that the need was felt for a new Church, as the old Church (which was a century old if not more – of course with additions, modifications, renovations etc. being made over the years) could not accommodate the growing number of parishioners. It was at this time that a decision was taken at the Parish Council level to shift the age old graveyard at the front of the church to the rear of the school. After the requisite permissions were acquired, the graveyard was shifted in 1988-89 and which is now being rebuilt and will be inaugurated on Oct. 27, 2011.
A proposal for building a new Church was put forward by Noel Murzello, Alban Mendes, Lynn Rosario and Stanley Rebello among others, to the then Parish Priest Fr. Edward D’Souza,but was put on the back burner for some time because of lack of funds and also because a new Parish unit in Kandivli (East) – the Nativity of Our Lord – was set up in 1993, and the number of our parishioners was reduced. But this was more than made up for by the influx of people to the government/private housing complexes in the various sectors of Charkop and other areas.Thus, the new Church project was taken up in right earnest (the details of which are dealt with in another article). The old church, along with the memories it held, was demolished in 1995,paving the way for a bigger and modern place of worship which is pleasing to the eye, both in its architectural setup and in the interior design. The new Church building was blessed and consecrated on June 1, 1997.
On the momentous occasion of the Sesquicentennial Jubilee, the new Cemetery will be inaugurated and the website of our parish will also be launched, thus putting our parish on the world wide web. From its humble beginnings at Magatana, to being part of the Poinsur parish and finally standing on its own for the past 150 years, our parish is now a bustling, vibrant, globally accessible Church.
But like the poet Robert Frost said, “... I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”