Panaji: Pune’s first church, which was earlier under the purview of the Archdiocese of Goa, will mark the 225th anniversary of its inception on Friday.
What will make the occasion even more special is the felicitation of two seventh generation descendants of the Peshwas. Considered to be the equivalent of modern-day prime ministers in the Maratha empire, the Peshwas had donated four acres of land for the religious needs of Pune’s Goan Catholic community two centuries ago, a gesture the parish continues to be grateful for.
Current priest Fr Salvador Pinto says the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conceptionbetter known as City Churchcame to be after Peshwa Madhavrao II donated land as a token of appreciation for the dedicated services rendered to him by soldiers of the Goan Catholic community.
A small church was subsequently constructed at the site and the first mass was celebrated on Christmas day in 1792. Fr Joaquim Vicente Menezes, a Goan, was the first parish priest.
In terms of financial aid, the church received 663 xerafin (coins, each of which were equal to 3/5th of a rupee) from the Peshwas as congrua (the lowest sum proper for the yearly income of a cleric). From 1819 onwards, it began receiving a grant from the British government.
Additional land was subsequently donated to build a larger church to cater to the booming Goan Catholic population in the Maharashtrian city. In the 1950s itself, the community grew from just 300 to 7,000 devotees.
Priests from theArchdiocese of Goa were posted at the church right up to 1952, when it was handed over to the Poona Diocese.
So far, the city’s Mother Church has produced 57 priests, four provincials and bishop emeritus Valerian D’Souza. This, Pinto said, was its greatest achievement. The parish priest added that Goan culture was still very much a part of the church and its faithful. Mass is said in Konkani on Sundays and the feast of St Francis Xavier is celebrated every year by Alfiad Bhavanchi Sociedade, a Goan tailors’ association, which was established in 1924.
Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao, along with bishop of Pune Thomas Dabre, and bishop emeritus Valerian D’Souza, vicar general of Pune Fr Malcom Silveira, and provincial of the Jesuits Fr Andrew Fernandes, will participate in the 225th anniversary celebrations on Friday, reported the Times of India.
Two plaques one bearing the names of bishops of the Goa Archdiocese from 1792 to 1952, and another listing names of priests from 1793 to 1952, and from 1953 to date — will be unveiled by Ferrao.