Contact Details
St Claret Mission,St Jude’s Church,
Karahalli P.O
Bangalore – 562 110
Karnataka, INDIA
Tel.: (+91) (0)80-7646245

Mission:                     Pastoral Ministry
                                   Education

Inception and Development
The Catholic presence at Karahalli can be traced back to as early as 1705. The Maharaja of Mysore donated the present Church land at Karahalli in 1872. In 1970 Cardinal Lourduswamy erected St Jude’s Church at Karahalli to the status of a parish.
In 1992, the Archbishop entrusted the whole of Deavanahalli and Doddaballapur taluks to the pastoral care of the Claretians and the Province erected the St Claret’s Mission having its Centre at Karahalli. On 12 June 1992, the Claretians officially took up Karahalli Parish. Frs. Mathew Njayarkulam, Joseph Moolakara and Peter D’ Souza were the pioneers to the region. At the time of its inception, St Jude’s Church at Karahalli was the only parish for the scattered Catholics of the entire taluk of Devanahalli. The Devanahalli taluk has about 600 Catholics spread out in 206 villages.

Pastoral Ministry
The parish caters to the pastoral needs of main villages with Catholic population such as Karahalli, Doddasagarahalli, Kudavathy, Yembrahalli and Kodaguruki. The St Jude’s Church is situated around 15 kms away from Devanahalli town, by the side of the road to Nandi Hills, a hill fort built by Tippu Sultan. Tourists, going to this hill station often drop in to the Church and the Shrine, seeking the intercession of St Jude. With the arrival of the Missionaries, the spreading of the Word of God gained momentum in the region. The Congregation of the Sisters of Nazareth at Karahalli and Sisters of the Canossian Daughters of Charity at Doddasagarahalli render their services in the parish. The parish has a sub-station: the Church at

Doddasagarahalli, dedicated to St Joseph, built in 1986.This was not big enough for this increasing Catholic Community.The Missionaries took up the extension and renovation work of the old Church. On 21 December 2003, the renovated Church was blessed and dedicated by Most Rev. Ignatius Pinto, the Archbishop of Bangalore.

Education

In 2005, the Missionaries took up the administration of Navaratna School at the request of the local people. Through the invovement in education and various other developmental works this backward area should soon be on the fast track of prosperity.