Reddy Catholics

Reddy Catholics are a loose sect or association of Catholics that grew out of the first Christian converts in Andhra Pradesh, India. They generally speak Telugu or Tamil and often retain some of their Hindu customs. There are branches in many parts of the world.

History
The first convert to Christianity in Andhra Pradesh was Thumma Hanumantha Reddy, also known as Manda Reddy. Manda Reddy, along with thirty Reddy families of Muddiguba and some other Reddy families in Alamuru, embraced Christianity in 1715. In the Rayalaseema region, many Reddies began visiting churches and converted to Christianity (Catholicism). By 1735, in South Andhra, there were thousands of Christians, most of whom belonged to the Reddy and traditional weaver communities.

Many Reddies in Guntur district have converted in to Roman Catholisim. Reddies who converted to Roman Catholicism still kept some the Hindu traditions like thali, bottu. Some of the Catholic Reddies migrated to Telangana via Krishna river. In Telangana they named their village as Guntur pally, Reddypuram or Reddypalem. By 1750, Christianity further spread to the Circar Districts due to the migration of Christian Reddies into those areas. In the early 18th century, many Catholic Reddies had migrated from Rayalaseema to some parts of Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Reddy Catholics mainly live under


 * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurnool
 * Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuddapah
 * Roman Catholic Diocese of Guntur
 * Roman Catholic Diocese of Chingleput
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hyderabad
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangalore.

Migration to Tamil Nadu
The Catholics belonging to reddi community came to be settled in the villages of Thatchur, Irusamanallur, Bathur, Boodur, Palnellore, Pallipattu(Lakshmi Narayana Puram), K.K.Pudur, Reddipalem, Kattupadi, Kallambedu, Eraiyur and Kaariyendal in the districts of Kanchipuram, Chingleput, Tiruvallur and Vellore in Tamilnadu. Presently most of the people who settled in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil and got assimilated with local culture.