History
It is befitting that we record the activities and achievements of the
church and trace the development of the Catholic Church in this region
touching on the people who gave their lives in the service of the
inhabitants of the region and on the institutions which in their various
ways have contributed to its development.
Although the territories comprised under Nagpur were included within the
Vicariate of the Great Mogul, there is no trace of any missionary ever
having set foot there till the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Nagpur, Kamptee, Aurangabad, and Jalna were first visited by priests of
the Goan jurisdiction, from Poona, about 1814. Nagpur and Kamptee were
sub-stations of the Parish Church of Poona, which was part of the
historical SEE of old Goa. The names of Priests who served Nagpur and
Kamptee in those days have not been fully recorded. It would seem that
marriages were solemnized in Kamptee even before 1839.
Goan priests built a chapel in honour of St. Anthony which existed at
Takli, suburb of Nagpur, where the troops of the Rajah of Nagpur were
quartered. Another was built in Kamptee and held in great veneration by
native Christians beyond the Ghora Bazar of Kamptee. Simultaneously,
Goan priests established themselves at Aurangabad and built a chapel in
honour of St. Francis Xavier in 1816; another chapel was built by them
at Kannar, two miles from Aurangabad. Military cantonments for British
troops were created at Kamptee in 1821, and at Jaulnah in 1827. The Goan
priests retained their jurisdiction in these parts until the district
fell to the jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic of Madras.
The Region under the Vicariate
Apostolic of Madras (1832 – 45)
In 1834 a new Vicariate Apostolic was established with headquarters at
Madras having separate jurisdiction. From 1806 the Vishakhapatnam region
was under the Mylapore Diocese and from 1833 it was officially part of
the Vicariate of Madras. The eastern region of the Goa administration
was detached and placed under propaganda directly under the control of
Rome. It was a vast area with military garrison at Samalkot, Vijaynagar,
Berhampur, Cuttack, Kamptee, Jalna and Jabalpur. Most of the soldiers
were Irishmen. From 1839 to 1849, two Irish priests, Fathers Breen and
Fr. Egen assisted by a Tamil priest Fr. Emmanuel served at Kamptee area
which was to become the cradle and the nursery of the church and future
diocese of Nagpur. Fr. Breen built a chapel in the Kamptee mission
compound in 1842 he also started building a chapel at Nagpur in 1844.
Fr. Breen died in the same year and his mortal remains lie even now in
front of the new an present alter of the Immaculate Virgin Mary Church
in Kamptee.
Father Murphy was appointed the new military chaplain in 1844. Along
with Fr. Emmanuel he visited sub-stations at Nagpur, Nagole, Jabalpur
and Sagar. Fr. Murphy had built a Temperance Hall at Kamptee which later
was converted into St. Joseph's Convent School in 1864. Subsequently,
after the Vatican Council of 1870, they were transferred to the
jurisdiction of the Vishakhapatanam mission.Fr. Murphy handed over
charge to Fr. Lavorel of the M.S.F.S. who reached Kamptee in August
1846. Fr. Murphy whose registers are preserved in the bishop's residence
at Nagpur, subsequently became Vicar Apostolic of Hyderabad and then
Archbishop of Hobart Town, Tasmania, where he died in 1908.
The Vishakhapatanam Vicariate (1845)
Later Vicariate Apostolic (1850)
This was established on the 18th March 1845 by Pope Gregory XVI after
this area was separated from Madras Vicariate. This new mission was
entrusted to the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales of Annecy in
France, a congregation established only in 1838. The region between the
Rivers Mahanadi and Narbada in the north and River Godavari in the south
and thus including parts of the modern states of Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh was under this new jurisdiction.
Within the space of 50 years, due to the untiring zeal and efforts of
pioneers priests, Catechists and sisters, the young church grew in
numbers and strength. And so this vast area of the Vicariate of
Vishakhapatnam gave rise to twelve ecclesiastical units, which is call a
diocese.
1. The Nagpur Diocese (1887):
2. Cuttack Diocese (1928):
3. Jabalpur Diocese (1932)
4. Indore Diocese (1935)
5. Amravati Diocese (1955)
6. Chanda Diocese (1962)
7. Bhopal Diocese (1964)
8. Raipur Diocese (1964)
9. JagdalpurDiocese (1972)
10. Berhampur Diocese (1974)
11. Khandwa Diocese (1977)
12. Later subdivisions of some of the above units e.g. 1978 Aurangabad,
Adilabad and so on.
At present, the ecclesiastical territory of Nagpur, which was raised to
an Archdiocese in 1953, comprises the district of Nagpur and Bhandara,
Gondia in Maharashtra State and the districts of Betul, Chhindwara,
Seoni and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh.
Administration of the Pro-Vicariate of
Vishakhapatanam:
The Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, to whom
the Pro-Vicariate of Vishakhapatanam was entrusted, was a community
established at Annecy, Savoy, France by Fr. Pierre Marie Mermier (1790 –
1862), with the blessing of the Bishop of Annecy, Mgsr. Rey on
24thOctober 1843, as a Diocesan Congregation. They received the
'Decretumlaudis' from the Holy SEE and on 6th February 1845, Cardinal
Franzoni, Prefect of Propaganda assigned to the M.S.F.S. for evangelical
work the whole area between the River Godaveri and Mahanadi in India.
Six missionaries i.e. four priests and two brothers constituted the
first batch of M.S.F.S. who set out for India. Fr. Martin was the leader
and Fr. Tissot, Fr. Lavorel, Fr. Thevenet and Brother Peter Carton and
Br. Sulpice Fontanel were the others. Fr. Lavorel and Fr. Thevenet left
Vishakhapatanam and passed through Rajahmundry to Hyderabad using
bullock carts and proceeded slowly. They enroute rested either in dak
bungalows or under the shade of trees. At Raipur they broke journey to
visit Yanam where their Superior Fr. Martin had passed away, they prayed
at his tomb. On their jouney Fr. Lavorel fell ill and at Hyderabad was
fortunately looked after by a French Officer in the Nizam's army. Fr.
Thevenet left for Aurangabad after Fr. Lavorel's recovery. The journey
was hazardous and he lost all his luggage, having being cheated by a
young man who befriended their party of three. At Jalna, Fr. O'Driscoll
of the Vicariate of Madras received them with great warmth. After
resting for a while, Fr. Thevenet and his group proceeded to Aurangabad
which they reached on 14th August 1846.
Fr. Lavorel recouped his health at Hyderabad and left for Kamptee. The
Irish soldiers had collected a fund for him and necessary provisions,
servants were made available for the journey. On 9th August 1846 he
reached Kamptee. Fr. Murphy of the Madras mission and his assistant Fr.
Emmanuel welcomed him with great joy. Fr. Murphy very tactfully trained
Fr. Lavorel in his duties at Kamptee and soon left, leaving the latter
in-charge.
First Church, First Prelates:
In 1858 Dr. Neyret consecrated the church in Kamptee in honour of the
Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. Msgr. Neyret had 10 priests, 3 lay
brothers and 4 sisters of St Joseph of Chambery working in five
residential stations. He was a learned man. Devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament and the Rosary played a big part in his zeal for his people.
But, worn out by a life of hard work and travelling for 66 days without
rest via a new route to Kamptee from the South, he passed away on 5th
November 1862.
Dr. Joseph Tissot had come to India with the first batch of M.S.F.S.
Missionaries. He was appointed Vicar Apostolic in 1863 and was
consecrated at Bombay on 3rd of April 1864. Nagpur was separated from
Vishakhapatnam in1886. Dr. Tisot became the Bishop of Vishakhapatnam.
The Shift to Nagpur:
A church building was already started in 1844 in the S.F.S. School
compound and opened for services in 1857. The foundation for the new
church was laid in 1880. Services were shifted to the new S.F.S. church
in 1886. The two bell towers came in 1909, in the tenure of Bishop
Gayet.
S.F.S. Becomes Cathedral:
For years, the idea of building a new Church in Nagpur remained wishful
thinking. Fr. Superior Fr. J. Thevenet, MSFS was in Nagpur and was
encouraged to begin work on the Church.
1879 The decision was made. Plans were designed by Bishop Tissot MSFS
and Fr. J. Thevenet. It would be 100 feet by 30 feet, in Gothic style.
With three naves.
1879 Foundations were started, supervised by Fr. J. Thevenet
1880 29th Jan. Foundation stone was blessed
1881 Dr. JosephTissot exerted himself in finding funds for the building.
He knocked on all doors, even of Protestants, for alms in the hope of
completing the Church.
1882 The work, began with enthusiasm, was held up for lack of funds.
1883 Fr. Dunoyer MSFS from Savoy joined Fr. J. Thevenet and both worked
together on the Church Building.
1884 When the naves were almost completed, Fr. Thevenet left the work in
the .hands of Fr. Dunoyer.
1886 –24th Oct. Solemn Blessing of the 2 bells, gifts sent from France
by the MSFS Congregation – both weighing 8 and 4 maunds respectively
were christened “Immaculate”.
1886 25th Oct. Red letter day for Nagpur – Solemn Blessing of the Church
by Fr. J. Thevenet as delegate of the Bishop, followed by a Pontifical
Mass at 11.00am. The 2 bells were hoisted up the steeples, from that
time they sing their melodious “Re-La” and charm even the least Catholic
ears.Within a year the Church became a Cathedral.
The Diocese was originally formed by dismemberment of what was then
known as the Central Provinces and Berar, from the Diocese of
Visakhapatnam in 1887. It was entrusted to the care of Missionaries of
St. Francis De Sales.
On July 18, 1932 the Brief “De Romanorum Pontificum” erected the
Prefecture of Jabalpur (now Diocese) by separating from Diocese of
Nagpur and Allahabad, the districts of Jabalpur, Mandla, Narsinghpur and
the tehsil of Lakhnadon is Seoni District.
Again on March 11, 1935, the Decree ‘Salutis Animarum’ of the S.C. of
the Propagation of the Faith erected the Prefecture of Indore (now
Diocese) comprising parts of the Diocese of Ajmer, Allahabad and Nagpur,
namely, the districts of Hoshangabad and Khandwa.
Further on May 8, 1955 the Decree ‘Cum Petierit’ erected the Diocese of
Amravati by taking away from the Nagpur Archdiocese the four districts
of berar (Amravati, Akola, Buldanha and Yeotmal) and the three districts
of Marathwada (Aurangabad and parts of Parbhani and Nanded- the other
parts of Parbhani and Nanded belonged to the Archdiocese of Hyderabad).
On March 31, 1962, the Apostolic Decree “Ad lucen Sancti Evangelii
erected the Exarchate of Chanda from the three districts of Wardha,
Chanda and Adilabad, till then part of Nagpur Archdiocese. This was
entrusted to the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, of the Syro-Malabar
Rite. In 1976 Chanda Exarchate was made in to a Diocese.
On January 16, 1964 by the Bull ‘Religio Vera Christique Salus’, the
districts of Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur were further detached from Nagpur
Archdiocese to form the Prefecture of Raipur which was entrusted to the
Pallotine Fathers and later given the status of Diocese in March 1974.
In September 1953, Nagpur was raised to an Archbishopric, with Amravati,
Aurangabad & Chanda as its Suffragans. Most Rev. Eugene D’Souza was the
first Indian Bishop and later Archbishop of Nagpur.