Inception
and Development
Bhattiprolu is situated 50 kms away from the
district headquarters, Guntur. The mission centre is easily
accessible both by rail and by road. The first Catholics of
the Parish were baptized in the year 1953. Most of the Catholics
of the parish belong to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
communities.
The first Claretians to the region, Rev. Frs. Mathew Njayarkulam,
John Vettikanal and Thomas Thazhathuveetil reached here in
August 1981. They stayed at Repalle, the neighbouring parish,
while studying the language. In 1982, Rt. Rev. Dr. K Mariadas,
the Bishop of Guntur entrusted the area of Bhattiprolu in
Guntur district to the Claretians for the evangelization
and educational activities.
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Pastoral Ministry
Joining
the five substations from the neighbouring parish of Tenali,
viz., Abnagodavally, Ravikumpadu, Baljepally, Kolluru and Peravalipalam
and four substations of Repalle, viz., Bhattiprolu, Vellaturu,
Suryapally and Kanagala together, the parish of “Christ the Redeemer Church” was
erected and inaugurated on the Solemnity of the Annunciation
of the Lord on March 25, 1982. The pioneers of the mission
named it after “Christ the Redeemer” with the
vision to give hope to the people that they will be liberated
by sharing the life of Christ the Redeemer.
In the later years non-traditional means of evangelization
were experimented in the parish with the missionaries opting
to stay among the people in the villages. To build up rapport
and to find conformity with the poor in the villages, Frs.
Thomas Pooyappadam and Savy Puthussery stayed in small huts
in the villages of this mission to know the people better
and for the people to have grater access to the missionaries.
A beautiful parish church, presbytery and boarding for poor
boys were blessed and inaugurated by Rt. Rev. Dr. Gali Bali,
the Bishop of Guntur on 22 April 1987. The hard work and commitment
of the Missionaries proved fruitful, as there are 16 Catholic
communities at present in the parish with 468 Catholic families
and a total strength of
1874 faithful. There are seven village chapels constructed by the Claretians
in the mission. 13 catechists assist the Missionaries in the pastoral works.
Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny reached the parish as co-workers in 1983 and their
cooperation in the pastoral and healthcare services contributed greatly to the
growth of the parish. |
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Educational Center for Humane Option (ECHO)
The social activities undertaken by the parish are also commendable
and praiseworthy. The housing programme of the mission could
help about 315 families. In 2003, the missionaries under the
initiatives of Fr. Thomas Pooyappadam initiated another project
called Educational Centre for Humane Options (ECHO). The project,
which operates from a newly constructed building in the Church
premises, aims to be a development oriented leadership animation
centre.
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