ST. JOHN BOSCO CHURCH

Established : Patron : St. John Bosco Address : St. John Bosco Church, Near Bethany School, Naini, Allahabad – 211 008 Phone : 0532- 2697865 Religious : Bethany Sisters (BS) A Brief History St. John Bosco Church is situated in the industrial area of Naini, beyond the Yamuna River. It is situated at the left-side of Mirzapur Road towards Mirzapur and is almost 500 metres away from the Naini Central Jail, and almost two and a half kilometers from both the old and new Yamuna Bridge. The Church had a humble beginning. In the words of Rt. Rev. Baptist Mudartha, the former Bishop of Allahabad, “We saw a piece of land-one acre and a little more, well situated, almost in the centre of the present Naini. The owner asked Rs. 30,000 per acre. We were startled at the rate. It was too much for the then prevailing land rate.” “Fr. Alva sent his men here and there and agreed to buy the plot on which the present Church, School and Convent are standing. It was a brick kiln area. The whole plot was negotiated for a little over Rs. 60,000. The locality was dangerous one; so the owner came at night to take the money, and finally the land was registered and things began to move.” The boundary wall, a few class rooms and the Church building was started in 1965 by Rev. Fr Paul Menezes, who was sent as a resident priest by Rt. Rev. Raymond D’Mello, the then Bishop of Allahabad. The Congregation of Little Flower of Bethany from Mangalore was contacted and invited to open an English Medium School here in the same year. The Silver Jubilee of the Church was celebrated in 1990-91 with lots of activities. The golden jubilee of the Church is slated for 2015-16 and hope it will be a memorable experience to the parish priest and the parishioners. The flock of St. John Bosco Church is a mixed one. There are a few Adivasi families, a few from Bettiah, some from Kerala and some are local Catholics. Though it is a mixed flock, there is family spirit among them. Catholics are united and the Church activities are done by the Parish Priest and the Pastoral Council members as a united effort. The Church building is not large enough to contain all the Catholics on Sundays and other feast days. It is very sad to see people outside the Church during the Mass. There are about 85 Catholic families in the Church and some are pulled towards ‘YesuDarbar’ and some have their affinity to the CNI Church to which they belonged earlier. But most of the families are faithful to their Sunday obligation and duties as Christians. The Bethany Convent Higher Secondary School is affiliated to CBSE Board of Education and has all the infra-structure for a good school. The Bethany Sisters have no stone unturned to make the school nationally renowned. Jan Hit Sadan, the Diocesan Development and Welfare Society head quarter is also situated in the Campus and looks after the social work in the diocese. Once what was called SethukaranSansthan is today named as Jan Hit Sadan. SHIATS (Sam Higgin Bottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences) is situated about 3 kms away. There are Catholic students both residing in the hostels or private houses. Their spiritual well-eing is looked after at present by the Priest in charge of St. Joseph’s Misson, SadwaKalan, a developing station situated about 4 kms from Naini. SHIATS students were also taken care of by St. John Bosco Church, Naini for a number of years. The following feasts are celebrated in a family spirit, usually with a fellowship meal after the service. Solemnity of Christmas – 25th December Holy Family Feast as Parish Family Day Easter Milan – after the mid-night Mass Parish Patron Saint Feast – Sunday after or before 31st January. The parish is divided into four areas and each area has its Patron Saint whose feast is celebrated as area feast usually on a Sunday and the area people themselves arrange that day’s liturgy and a light meal after the service for all. The four areas are: St. Alphonsa’s Area – July 28 (Feast) St. Francis Assisi Area – October 4 (Feast) St. Francis Xavier Area – December 3 (Feast) St. John De Britto Area – February 4 (Feast) Parish Priests till Date: Rev. Fr. Faustin Alva (Negotiated and Purchased Land) July 1965 – June 1970 Rev. Fr. Paul Menezes(First Residential Priest) July 1970 – June 1975 Rev. Fr. Lawrence Kurien July 1975 – Dec 1976 Rev. Fr. Stephen Rodrigues Jan 1977 – June 1978 Rev. Fr. Lawrence Kurien July 1978 – June 1989 Rev. Fr. George D’Souza July 1989 – June 1994 Rev. Fr. Denis D’Souza July 1994 – June 1995 Rev. Fr. Charles D’Almeida July 1995 – June 2000 Rev. Fr. Stephen Coutinha July 2000 – June 2007 Rev. Fr. Ambrose D’Souza July 2007 – June 2010 Rev. Fr. Denis D’Souza July 2010 – June 2014 Rev. Fr. Stany Wilfred D’Souza July 2014 – to date Rev. Fr. Baptist Castelino Co-pastors: Rev. Fr. Xavier Lobo Rev. Fr. Henry Soares Rev. Fr. George Rebeiro Rev. Fr. Leo Sequeira Rev. Fr. AvelinD’Silva Rev. Fr. Charles D’Almeida

St. John Bosco Church, Near Bethany School, Naini, Allahabad ? 211 008