Draft:St John De Britto Church

St John De Britto Church
St. John de Britto’s Church, Sakthikulangara, was established in the year 1878 by Rt. Rev. Ildaphonsa Borgna Vicar Apostolic.

Located 7 kms north of Kollam city, Kerala –Sakthikulangara is a landmass that is almost sandwiched between the Arabian sea on the west and the Ashtamudy lake on the northern and eastern side The landscape is almost split by the National Highway 66 Ozhukkuthode, a flowing rivulet, on the southern border and Kattackal lake on the eastern side provide the land strip a rare mix of environmental charm. The estuary where Ashtamudy lake pours into Arabian sea touches the northern side of the land strip, making it a natural harbor. The estuary where Ashtamudi lake confluence with the Arabian sea separate Sakthikulangara from Neendakara. The faithful community was a part of the Neendakara Parish till 1878.

At first the Catholic population in Thekkakara (Sakthikulangara) was only about 300. Considering the rapid growth of faithful it was Bishop Benziger who declared Sakthikulangara as a separate parish in 1909. The existing Church was extended and renovated, in the model of St. Peter’s Basilica under the leadership of Rt. Ret. Msgr. Valerian Fernandez and was blessed on 01 January, 1971 by Bishop Jerome.

The Church remains as a beacon of light, facing the gentle sea breeze and waves of the Arabian Sea like a colossus that has vanquished all forces of evil – a true symbol of spiritual love and peace. Over the years the Church has turned out to be a haven of spiritual bliss, a connecting link of the social fabric, a forum for cultural interactions of the people of Sakthikulangara.

In the 1950s when the coastline of Kerala hardly had any motorized boats, and processing facilities, a survey done by the Central Government with the aid of Norway chose the picturesque village of Sakthikulangara and some surrounding areas to set the Indo Norwegian project in India. It was mainly siting the hardworking and dedication of the people in Sakthikulangara that the gamechanger project was implemented in this area. Today, Sakthikulangara has one of the major fishing harbor in Kerala where mechanized fishing operation using trawlers, freezing and export thrive making the state itself one of the top foreign money gainer in exports.

To cater to the needs of the growing faithful community in Puthenthuruthu, an island surrounded by Ashtamudi Lake which is a part of the Sakthikulangara Parish where more than 100 families reside in the year 2009, September 6th a chapel in honor of “Our Lady of Assumption” was blessed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Stanley Roman, Bishop of Kollam.

The southern border of the Parish know as Valavilthoppe is also facilitated with a chapel in honor of “St. Joseph” which accommodates more than 500 faithful at a time. The Chappel was blessed in the year 2009, September 6th by Rev. Dr. Stanly Roman.

The towering Sagara Matha Shrine by the side of the national highway is another center for devotion and prayer in the parish.

Currently with more than 2900 families Sakthikulangara is the largest Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Quilon