Inception and Development
In 1988 Rt. Rev. Alphonse Mathias,
the Archbishop of Bangalore entrusted St Peter’s Church, Doddaballapur to the Claretians.
The Archdiocese of Bangalore invited for the Claretian involvement
in the evangelization of the rural areas of Bangalore. Today,
this mission consists of three different parishes, spread out
in three taluks – Devanahalli, Doddaballapur and Nelamangala.
When the Claretians took up the mission in 1988, the area
had only 17 Catholic families. Fr. Joseph Kudakuthyil, residing
at Claretian Seminary served as the Priest-in-charge of the
Centre for a while. Later, Fr. Joseph Moolakara began to stay
at the Centre and was appointed the first parish priest of
St Peter’s Church.