C.M. Paul
Nagrakata, January 8, 2023 : A tea garden parish in the Dooars area of Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal inaugurated 100 years celebration of founding of Catholic community at Champaguri, near Naya Sylee Tea Garden near Nagrakata on 8th January 2023.
Bishop Clement Tirkey of Jalpaiguri presided over the solemn centenary inaugural Eucharistic with 20 priests, 40 religious Brothers and Sisters; and some 1,000 faithful.
The parish has some 1,020 families with about 4,000 Catholics spread out in 17 sub stations.
As the old parish church was in dilapidated condition and the new church construction was incomplete, the celebrations were held in the open.
While congratulating the faith of Christians of the parish, Bishop lamented the fact that “in 100 years, the parish could offer only two priests, one for diocese and another for Jesuit society.”
Parish Priest Fr Samir Tirkey says, “Spiritual preparation for all age group, catechism classes at grass root level, training for catechists, and on going faith formation through Small Christian Community programs at different tea gardens to be held regularly are being planned.”
Centenary celebrations will conclude in October 2023.
The Pontifical Milan Fathers (PIME) started mission at Nya Sylee Tea Garden around 1911 and moved to Champaguri in 1923, to the same bungalow offered by the then Tea Garden Manager.
The Naya Sylee Tea Garden village falls in Jalpaiguri district situated in North Bengal, with a population 6,034 (Census 2011) in an area covering about 11 square kilometers.
The mission began with PIME Father Joseph Antony Lazzaroni from present Krishnagar diocese in Nadia contacted a group of 20 Catholics hailing from Chottanagpur in present Jharkhand state working in the tea garden.
Till the partition of Bengal at India’s independence in 1947, Naya Sylee mission was under the Diocese of Dinajpur in East Bengal, now Bangladesh