Our History

HISTORY OF OUR LADY OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE CHURCH

KANNUR, BENGALURU

The spirit of Christ and Christianity had descended on Kannur and its neighbouring villages much before anyone dreamt of a church here. Mother Willegard and other sisters of DSS congregation had been empathising with the problem-ridden families and rendering compassionate service aimed at uplifting the least of our brethren here. Mother Willegard, a household name with Christian and non- Christian families brought about a big difference in the lives of hundreds of quarry workers by building permanent houses for them. 

In the 80's, there were hardly 4-5 catholic families. They used to attend mass at Petralaya, the house of the DSS Sisters. When the numbers increased to around 20, these families were affiliated to Christ the King Church, Byrathi from where Priests used to come and offer mass at Petralaya. People still remember with gratitude and admiration the services rendered by Rev. Fr. I Joseph, the then parish priest, coming to offer mass in spite of threats and even attacks from a few localities. 

As years rolled on, our small catholic community was accorded the status of a sub-station and was attached to St. Mary's Church, Hegde Nagar. Successive Parish Priests - Fr. Joshy, Fr. Prasanna, Fr. Daniel Elias, Fr. Jacob, Fr. Deepak and Fr. Alwyn Aranha shepherded and nourished our community in our growth and faith. 

In August 2014, when the number of families had crossed 80, the functions of our sub-station were moved from Petralaya Chapel to the multipurpose hall of the Regional House of the FDP Sisters. Sensing the urgent need for a proper church building, the Archbishop, Rt. Rev. Dr Bernard Moras started looking for a suitable piece of land. The search ended when he zeroed in on the half-acre land which the PDF Sisters agreed to part with. The land was registered on 14th December 2014. 

In 2017, the Archbishop declared the sub-station a semi-public parish and handed over the complete responsibility of the parish to the Dominican Fathers. Rev. Fr. Naveen Rodrigues O P was appointed Priest-in-charge in June 2017. The foundation stone for the new church building was laid on 24th September 2017 by Archbishop Emeritus most Rev. Dr Bernard Moras. 

On 26th May 2019, Rev. Fr. Prakash Menezes was appointed the first full-fledged parish priest. He has ever since shouldered the daunting task of completing the church building which, unfortunately, ran into hurdles. A financial crisis hit the progress of the project. Covid-19 aggravated the crisis. But thanks to the persistent and enthusiastic efforts of our parish priest and the support of the Archbishop and all the others, our continual prayers to Mother Mary were heard and rewarded. The basement got completed. All the functions of the parish were moved from the multipurpose hall to the basement. The first mass, 2019 Christmas mass was celebrated in the basement. Meanwhile, the new church was named after our beloved Mother and Patroness: Our lady of Divine Providence Church. 

The success so far was only partial. The basement was complete. The outer structure of the main church building (the ground floor) was also complete. But the interiors of the main church- the flooring, the ceiling, the altar and all other essentials of a church remained incomplete. The Archbishop Rev. Dr. Peter Machado asked the parish priest to raise the required funds from among the religious congregations and the faithful. This indeed was a formidable task. But thanks again to the indomitable spirit of our parish priest, the generosity of the religious congregations and the laity. The halted work resumed and now the majestic structure stands complete awaiting a grand and solemn inauguration and blessing.

English Version:

Prof. Raju Victor, 

LGCL Beautiful World 

Infant Jesus Ward