|
History: Madanthyar is the corrupt form of the words Mathada Thyaru which mean the presbytery of the Matts. This was part of Agrar until 1886 and the priest from Agrar used to visit these villages once a year to bless the graves at the cemetery opened by local Catholics, to bless the houses and to celebrate ass. Later, the local Catholics obtained permission from the Archbishop of Goa to build a chapel here, to be served from Agrar. Fr.Emilian Alexander D’souza of Agrar had chosen a site for the chapel. The Concordat of 1886 came into operation and Agrar was transferred to the diocese of Mangalore. So the people appealed to Bishop Nicholas Pagani sj and he detached the area from Agrar and placed it under the care of Fr.Pascal Mascarenhas, the parish priest of Gaddai (Belthangady). Fr.Pascal Mascarenhas used to go occasionally to Madanthyar and offer mass in a shed in 1887. The people wanted an independent parish.
Mr. Francis D’souza Prabhu (Porso Porob) of Kolkebail endowed his vast property to the new parish. On March 16, 1889, Fr.Rosario D’souza was appointed as the first parish priest.
Fr.Jacob Sequeira (1890-1900) constructed the church and it was blessed by the Bishop Pagani sj on January 29, 1893. He was successful in securing 50 acres of land for the parish. There were Konkani and Tulu speaking Catholic families in the parish.
The seventh parish priest Fr.Denis D’souza (1925-1942) bought some land for the new church and started the construction of the church and the presbytery. The incomplete church and the presbytery were blessed by the Bishop Victor Fernandes on May 7, 1940. Fr.Gasper Baptist Pinto (1942-1959) completed the presbytery and the flooring work of the new church. The present new presbytery is built by Fr. Charles Noronha.
Fr.Jacob Sequeira began Guardian Angels’ Primary School in a small shed in 1898. Fr.Denis D’souza had upgraded the school to Higher Primary level and took over St.Antony’s School at Gardady in 1920 and in 1927 he established St.Joseph’s Primary School at Nainadu. The Guardian Angels’ new School building was inaugurated during the tenure of Fr.Ligory D'Souza (1977-1983) on January 25, 1980. St.Joseph’s and St Anthony’s Schools were upgraded to Higher Primary level on July 4, 1981. Permissions for Sacred Heart High School, P. U. College and Degree College were obtained by Fr.Ligoury D’souza. The buildings for both the colleges were done during the time of Fr.Fred V. Pereira, who rendered his service as a parish priest and correspondent of the educational institutions (1983-1992).
|
