Church of Our Lady of Nativity (St. Lucia Church)

Anaikarai was an ancient mission parish the Madurai mission of the Jesuits. According to oral tradition, St. Francis Xavier stayed at Sanganangulam and Rammathapuram, the sub-stations of Anaikarai, on his way to Kovalam. According to a missionary catalogue of 1713, a village called Isalapuram belonged to Nehmam Mission and this Isalapuram is a few kilometres away from Anaikarai. In 1890 Anaikarai and its substations were attached to Sathankulam. For a short period, it was also the parish of Uvari. 1910 it was made a separate parish and Rev. Fr. Cuturier was made the parish priest. According to statistics of 1914 Anaikarai had 22 substations. The Church is dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady. The foundation stone of the present Church was laid on 15th September 1850. St. Lucia is the second patroness of the Church. The feast of St. Lucia is celebrated as a pilgrimage feast by people all around that area. In 1980 Rev. Fr. Cedric Peeris renovated the Church. Rev. Fr. M. Peter built the belfry in 2001-2002. The Way of the Cross Church was built by Rev. Fr. Wingling Ravi. Succession in parish priests: 1. Rev. Fr. Makberd - 1920 -1922 2. Rev. Fr. Lourdu Samy - 1922 - 1923 3. Rev. Fr. Gowsanal - 1923 - 1924 4. Rev. Fr. Arul Samy - 1924- 1936 5. Rev. Fr. Stansilaus Raja - 1936 - 1938 6. Rev. Fr. Rosario Corera - 1938 - 1942 7. Rev. Fr. Lourdu Marianathar - 1942 - 1949 8. Rev. Fr. A. Augustin Fdo - 1949 - 1957 9. Rev. Fr. Richard Rodrigo - 1957 - 1959 10. Rev. Fr. D. Gnanapragasam - 1959 - 1961 11. Rev. Fr. Cruz Mariyan - 1961 - 1963 12. Rev. Fr. Gomaz - 1963 - 1970 13. Rev. Fr. Rajaregam - 1970 - 1972 14. Rev. Fr. Julian Fdo - 1972 - 1976 15. Rev. Fr. Xavier George - 1976 - 1979 16. Rev. Fr. Cedric Peeris - 1979 - 1982 17. Rev. Fr. Bancras - 1982 - 1985 18. Rev. Fr. R. Antonydos - 1985 - 1988 19. Rev. Fr. L. Jegadish - 1988 - 1993 20. Rev. Fr. Narbert A.R. - 1993- 1996 21. Rev. Fr. Joseph Leon - 1996- 2000 22. Rev. Fr. M.Peter - 2000 – 2005 23. Rev. Fr. Wingling Ravi - 2005 – 2010 24. Rev. Fr. Arul Thana Seelan - 2010 – 2015 25. Rev. Fr. Joseph Stalin - 2015 – 2020 26. Rev. Fr. Selva Rathinam - 2020 - Substations 1. Saveriarpuram – St. Francis Xavier 2. Vaazhaithottam – St. Michael 3. Mittatharkulam – St. Esthaque 4. Nathankulam – St. Peter 5. Perungulam – St. Joseph

Anaikarai B.O. Radhapuram Tk - Tirunelveli Dt. Tamil Nadu - 627 654 - India