Apostolate

Christu Bhavan, Bhattiprolu, Andhra Pradesh

	Contact Details Christu Bhavan Bhattiprolu P.O Guntur District – 522 256 Andhra Pradesh, INDIA Tel.: (+91) (0)8648-248 237; 248 927 E-mail: bpluchristubhavan@yahoo.com
Statistics
Year of Foundation: 1982
Mission: Pastoral Ministry Educational Apostolate Rural Development Projects
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.
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.
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.
Hostel for Boys The boarding adjacent to the presbytery accommodates about 20 poor boys, who pursue their upper primary and secondary school education in the nearby Telugu medium corporate-management school.