Sunday, March 22, 2009

Jesuit Took Over Missionary Church In India During WWII

St Roque’s Church in Gokhivare village in Vasai East. St Roque’s Church has a curious history. It is believed that this church was built as a result of a promise made to St Roque by the people of Gokhivare in 1914 when the village was severely affected by an epidemic of cholera. The villagers prayed to St Roque to spare them from this scourge and took a vow to build a chapel in his honour.

This promise was fulfilled by around 200 villagers of Gokhivare who built a small structure measuring 40 feet by 18 feet in honour of St Roque. This chapel was under the jurisdiction of the Parish of St Michael the Archangel, Manickpur. St Roque’s Church was elevated to the status of a parish in 1943 when the Jesuit priest Fr Nubiola became its first resident missionary in charge. With an increasing Catholic population, especially due to migration from Mumbai, a new and larger church is presently under construction.

Link (here)

Link (here) to the Jesuit portal of India

India in World War II (here)

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