ST. VINCENT PALLOTTI CHURCH BHANRIA

ST. VINCENT PALLOTTI CHURCH BHANRIA

BHANRIA (D. JASHPUR)

Fr. Ajay Kumar Jojo Parish Priest,

Manager, St. Vincent Pallotti Hr. Sec. School,

Rupsera – Bhanria

Fr. Prabin Ku. Sobhanayak Asst. Parish Priest,

Asst. Boarding In-charge & Teacher

Bro. Teopil Kerketta Principal, St. Vincent Pallotti Hr. Sec. School,

Rupsera – Bhanria

BHANRIA:

June 1, 1981: Bhanria Parish (now Raigarh Diocese) was entrusted to the Pallottines

Bhanria is a mission parish in the Catholic Diocese of Jashpur, State Chhattisgarh, India. It is 45 kilometers away from the Diocesan headquarters Kunkuri and 90 kilometers away from the district headquarters Jashpur.

The Pallottines were invited by then the Bishop of Raigarh to work in the Parish of Bhanria. It was formally entrusted to the Society on June 01, 1981. Rev. Fr. Anthony Correia was appointed the first Parish Priest assisted by Rev. Fr. Alois Kujur and Rev. Fr. Peter D’Souza. The existing church was a thatched hut. The Parish also had a school, a mud house under its care. A small dispensary was opened by the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen. At the time of its being taken over, the parish had a Catholic population of about 4660 spread out in 34 villages. The residence for the priests was ready by 1982 and the construction of a new church began in 1984. St. Maria Parish of Landau, the home parish of Rev. Fr. Toni M. Kolb, sponsored many of the projects in the parish. The mother of Fr. Toni laid the foundation stone for the new school and many of the benefactors of the parish from Landau were present on the occasion. Rt. Rev. Victor Kindo, Bishop of Raigarh, blessed the new Church on May 13, 1986. The Regional Superior, Rev. Fr. Joseph Tharakunnel blessed the new parochial house on August 17, 1987.

Bhanria parish is the fruit of the missionary efforts of the German Pallottines who came to India in 1951. Bhanria was made an independent parish in 1981 and entrusted to the Pallottine Society. There are 24 Catholic villages spread over 15 to 20 sq kilometers with the Catholic population of 6850.

Bhanria area is a hilly terrain and abounds paddy fields all along the road. This area is inhabited by the tribals inaccessible thickly forest hamlets. People are economically poor, however they have genuine faith. They are pious and God fearing. Houses are made up of mud, thatched with country made tiles and without proper sanitation.