|
Saint Antony's Church of Urapakkam, India is situated in Kanchipuram district. ==History== This Church came to its existence on 21 January 1991 as a result of the efforts of Rev. Fr. George Palakkattukunnel, the parish priest of Maldrasapuram. This happened consequent to the visit of Rev. Fr. George Palakkattukunnel who was invited by one of our congregants for blessing his house in Urapakkam and when he noticed that there are 8 catholic families living in the same area. In July 1992, these 8 families where included with Maldrasapuram parish and the monthly subscriptions were collected. In July 1993, Rev Fr. P. K. Mathew who was appointed as the new parish priest of Maldrasapuram shifted these families to St Michael’s Church Kolapakkam Parish near Vandaloor. Late.Rev.Fr. Sebastian Kozhikara was the parish priest then in Kolapakkam. St Michael’s Church Kolapakkam has a history from 1965, and this is one of the oldest churches for St. Michael and one of its kinds in North Tamil Nadu. This church has 3 Sub parishes - St. Antony’s Church – Urapakkam, Good Shepherd Church- Ootary (Vandaloor), St. Joseph’s Church- Melakottaiyur. Late.Rev.Fr. Sebastian Kozhikara through his Excellency and dedication towards the lord started the practice of celebrating the holy mass once in a month on Sunday evenings in one of the houses of the 8 families in Urapakkam, since there was no church or chapel at that time in Urapakkam. In 1995, the District Collector of Chengalpattu through the representation of residence welfare association (the parishioner was one of the member of the association) and Late.Rev.Fr. Sebastian Kozhikara allocated a place to build a church for the catholic families living in Urapakkam. He then built a small hut as chapel and the holy mass was celebrated on first Sundays of every month. Late Rev. Fr. Sebastian Kozhikara also took steps to raise funds to build a church and there were 17 families at that time in Urappakkam. In 1996, Rev. Fr. Eucharist was appointed as parish priest of Kolapakkam. He then increased the Holy Mass to every week on all Sundays. On 17 March 1997, the foundation stone was put up to construct a church dedicated to the patron St. Antony of Padua by Rev. Fr. Eucharist. On 11 October 1997, Most Rev. Dr. Arul Doss James, the Archbishop of Chennai Mylapore consecrated and inaugurated our church and dedicated to St. Antony of Padua. In 2002, Rev. Fr. Kanikairaj was appointed as the parish priest of Kolapakkam who then renovated and extended the church and with his effort and active participation of the existing parishioners the size of the parish increased to 95 families, on perceiving the active participation and devotion of the parishioners towards St. Antony, he started celebrating holy mass together with eucharist adoration on the first Tuesday of every month. In 2006, Rev. Fr. Christian was appointed as the parish priest of Kolapakkam, he built the front elevation of the church and our family size grew to 121 families. In 2011, Rev. Fr. Shylok Stephen was appointed as the parish priest of St. Michael Church, Kolapakkam, and during his servicing in St. Antony’s Church in Urapakkam he started Celebrating Holy masses followed by Novena on Fridays and Saturdays of the first week of each Month. The Holy Masses, Novenas, and Adorations held in this church had a significant positive impact on this place and surrounding areas. By then his church was overflowed with devotees who came to attend the Tuesday's Novena without any discretion of religion or caste. Miracles, wonders, and God’s presence started to be testified by many through the intercession of St. Anthony’s. The people in and around Urapakkam come to our Church of St. Antony’s to experience spiritual, mental and physical healing, and fulfillment of their needs. In January 2013, St Antony’s Church had 160+ families and counting more, due to exodus in catholic families settling in and around Urapakkam and by our wishes and prayers to the Mighty GOD, our St. Antony’s church is being recognized to become as independent Parish. Rev Fr. Shylock Stephen the parish priest took steps to complete all the required procedures and also took steps to build a presbytery with active participation and whole hearted contribution of the parishioners. Even if you try to run away we will find you. St Antony’s Church, Urapakkam has been recognized as a Parish under Chengalpattu Diocese, and the official announcement was made by our beloved Most Rev. Dr. Neethinathan Bishop of Chengalpattu Diocese. This happiest and memorable moment was celebrated on 28 July 2013. The Official Website was also launched on 28 July 2013 by our beloved Most Rev. Dr. Neethinathan, Bishop of Chengalpattu Diocese. In the name of Divine Lord, I welcome each of you to this Church. I pray that let St. Anthony’s, the Wonder Worker, intercede for each of you in your daily life. Rev. Fr. James Thamburaj. Parish Priest, St. Anthony’s Church, Urapakkam 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saint Antony's Church of Urapakkam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|