Church of Our Lady of Dolours, Wadala

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Church Entrance

The Church of Our Lady of Dolours, Wadala is a

Pieta
.

The parish extends till

Kings Circle fly-over in the North, Naigaum, Sahakar Nagar and Kidwai Nagar in the South, Hindu Colony/Ruia College in the West and the Harbour Branch Railway line including the Reynold's Road, BPT Quarters in the East. These geographical boundaries were drawn after the parish of St. Dominic Savio, Antop Hill
was carved out of Our Lady of Dolours church in 1981.

Most parishioners are concentrated in the Wadala Village, Sahakar Nagar, the Catholic Colony and Don Bosco Hsg. Society, Kidwai Nagar, Madhav Nagar, David Barretto Road, Katrak Road and CGS Quarters. Most, especially the original inhabitants of Wadala and Gowari Villages are Bombay East Indians. The rest hail mainly from Goa and Mangalore. These were able to come into Wadala largely because of the buildings built by the Salesians for Catholics.

As of 2014 the parish priest was Fr.Godfrey D'Sa, SDB, Assistant Parish priest Fr.Vivian D'zouza, SDB, administrator Fr. Sanjay Lopes, SDB. The principal of St.Joseph's High School was Fr.Bernard Fernandes, SDB.

History

Wadala was once a wilderness with nothing more than a few villages amidst marshy fields and salt pans. In 1853, Fr. J. Braz Fernandes, Vicar of

Catholics
of Wadala, Govari, Naigaum, Matunga, Antop Hill, Dadar, Sewri, Customs and BPT Quarters.

In 1936 the chapel was replaced by a church, whose cornerstone was laid on 1 November 1936, and the church was blessed on 17 October 1937 by Msgr.

Kings Circle
, a little more than a kilometer away. This was the first parish run by the Salesians in the Archdiocese. Fr. Edward Rego was appointed the first Salesian parish priest and principal of St. Joseph's School. He rebuilt St. Joseph's School and raised it to the level of a high school in 1955.

In 1981 the church of St. Dominic Savio was built in the heart of the Antop Hill slums. It was carved out of the mother parish, Our Lady of Dolours. In 1985 the community of Salesians at Our Lady of Dolours Church was given canonical status and Fr. Olivio Miranda was the first Rector-Parish Priest. The work on the church structure that was in urgent need of repairs started on 27 January 1994 and was completed in 1996.[1]

The

Don Bosco was displayed at Our Lady of Dolours Church on 13 August 2011. The relic was taken on a worldwide pilgrimage as part of the preparation for his bicentenary celebrations.[2]

Priests belonging the parish and school.

  • Fr. Godfrey D'sa SDB
  • Fr.Ivo Coehlo SDB
  • Fr. Crispino D'souza SDB
  • Fr.Roy Noronha SDB

There are many educational institutions and Service Centers around the parish church.

Catholic institutions and service centers

  • St. Joseph's High School-Wadala,
  • Don Bosco High School-Matunga,
  • Auxilium Convent-Wadala,
  • Mazzarello Youth Welfare Centre-Wadala,
  • Don Bosco Youth Services,
  • Don Bosco Recruitment Services,
  • Tejprasarini,
  • Tej Kiran Studio,
  • Bosco Information Service,
  • Prafulta Counselling Centre,
  • Amar Media Communication Center,
  • Anmol Shelter for Street Girls,
  • Shelter Don Bosco,
  • Shelter Don Bosco Research and Documentation Centre,
  • Shrine of Mary Help of Christians,
  • Salesian Provincial House and Development Office.

References

  1. ^ "Salesian Province of Mumbai, Our lady of Dolours". Donboscomumbai.org. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Don Bosco's relic to be in city from Aug 12 to 15". The Times of India. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.

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