BOMBAY 1540 -THE STORY OF TWO ANCIENT PORTUGUESE CHURCHES ; St. John The Baptist Church AND St Bonaventure church

 

St. Johns Baptist church located in Andheri, Mumbai was abandoned after an epidemic in 1840. This church built in the 16th century

History

When the Portuguese took possession of Bombay, the seven small islands out of which it had formed had by then partly coalesced. Colaba and Al-Omanis still remained to the South separated by narrow channels. But between the islands of Bombay, Mazagoan and Parel the creeks had silted up. 






A broad but shallow lagoon occupied the center, invaded by higher tides. But for the most part consisting of salty marsh. The sea flowed in by a narrow channel between Mahim and Worli, while the deep gulf between Mahim and Sion, while the deep gulf at Breach Kandy :-

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The Hornby Vellard was a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands of Bombay into a single island with a deep natural harbour. The project was started by the governor William Hornby in 1782 and all islands were linked by 1838. The word vellard appears to be a local corruption of the Portuguese word vallado meaning fence or embankment.^[1]

View from Malabar Hill-1750

It was completed in 1784 and was one of the first major civil engineering projects which transformed the original seven islands of Bombay into one island. Work on the vellard was started in 1782 by William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay, against the wishes of the directors of theEast India Company.

View from Sion Fort.

The purpose of this vellard was to block the Worli creek and prevent the low-lying areas of Bombay from being flooded at high tide. The cost was estimated at about Rs. 100,000.

View From Belmont.

According to some accounts, Hornby ordered the work to be started after the East India Company turned down his proposal; and continued as Governor till the end of his term in 1784, ignoring the suspension notice sent to him. 

View of Breach Causeway

One story of the origin of the Mahalaxmi temple links it to a vision of a statue of Laxmi in the sea. The chief engineer dreamed of the statue following multiple collapses of the sea-wall; recovered it, and built the temple as an offering for safe construction of the vellard.

View From Belmont.

was the only one which always required passage by boat.



This "seven-island kingdom" as some authors wish to call it thus identifying it with the Heptanesia of Ptolemy, was not thickly populated. The inhabitants with the exception of some Mohammedans at Mahim, were mostly Hindus of the Kolis and the Bhandari castes, agriculturists, toddy tappers, gardeners, fishermen.



In the course of the 16th and the 17th centuries, the Franciscans established or are said to have established several Churches and Chapels in Bombay. They are:

1. Church of O.L. of Expectation (N.S. da Esperanca) in Bombay-Island proper dating back to 1570 though there has been some difference of opinion on the matter, it seems certain after Hull's studies and calculation, that the church of O.L. of Expectation stood more or less in the center of the present Victoria Terminus. This is the church where the Fransiscans administered upto 1720, the year they were expelled from Bombay.
2. Church of St. Micheal, Mahim
3. Church of O.L. of Glory, Mazagaon.
4. Church of O.L. of Salvation, Dadar.
5. The Parel Chapel
6. Chapel of O.L. of Good Counsel, Sion.
7. Chapel of O.L. of the Mount, Mazagaon Hill or St. Bernadines?

  http://www.olgcchurch.com/parishhistory.asp

                            "The Expulsion of the Franciscan From Bombay"

The discord between the Portuguese (the Friars were Portuguese) and the English is highlighted through this example.

An instance where the Friars seem to have voiced their protests and opinions rather loudly, occurred in 1676. The Portuguese had chased a Malabarian vessel. It had fled to and received shelter at Bombay[UNDER ENGLISH]. The Portuguese demanded that it be handed over to them. The Friars sided with them and their attitude became known to the English.

A decision was taken by the English on the basis of such incidents that the Franciscans would remain expelled.

                            "The Return of the Franciscans to Bombay"

The author reports : "When Charles Boone, Commander General of the island and Castle of Bombay, the 13th of May 1720, signed the order expelling the Portuguese Franciscans, he could hardly have foreseen that Friars of his own nation would be the instruments in the hands of Divine Providence to re-establish the Order in Bombay. But thus it came about.

In 1 25 the Franciscans of the ancient "Provincia Angliae" arrived in India. For three years they worked in Hyderabad, Deccan.

In 1 28 a new ecclesiastical unit with headquarters at Bellary was formed, consisting of undeveloped portions of the Archdiocese of Madras and the diocese of Hyderabad entrusted to them. The Catholics in this area numbered only a few thousands. It was therefore just a territory where priests and missionaries were needed, where there was scope for real zeal and a spirit of sacrifice. However, there was one great drawback. The few Catholics who inhabited these regions, were not of those classes, whence vocations to the priesthood and religious life are ordinarily drawn. Therefore almost from the beginning, the Franciscans of Bellary were obliged to look outside the limits of their territory for Indian vocations.

[EXTRACT FROM THE CATHOLIC DIRECTORY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOMBAY 1982 (page 101 and 102]







St. John the Baptist Church is an abandoned and ruined church presently located within the SEEPZ Industrial Project, Mumbai. It was built by the Portuguese in 1579 and opened to public worship in the feast of John the Baptist that year. 
It also had an attached graveyard. The church was abandoned in 1840 after an epidemic hit the village. 
Fr José Lourenço Pais, the then Vicar of Kondivita transferred the church to the nearby Marol village.


 The baptismal font, pillars and altars were transferred to the new church.
After abandonment, the church fell into decay and vegetation started to take over the ruins. Despite being abandoned, the native Christians visit the church once every year, as is traditional worldwid

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The origins of the parish of St. John the Evangelist can be traced back to two mass convertions at Marol.  Some of the inhabitants of Marol were among the 500 people who were converted when the neighbouring church at Condita was opened for public worship on the feast of St. John the Baptist in the year 1579.
 The second mass conversion took place on the eve of the feast of the Assumption in 1588
, when the whole village of Marolbecame Catholic.  Soon 13 other villages around Marol followed its example.  Marol and surrounding villages received the Catholic faith through the pioneering efforts of Jesuit Brother Manuel Gomes, “The Apostle of Salsette.”

After Powai, Marol was a stronghold of Christianity in this region of the island.  The Jesuit Report of 1669 tells us that the parish comprised 1380 Catholics in Marol, 302 in Condita, 246 in Gundowli and 219 in Chakala.

The original church of this parish was built in 1579 at Condita at a point north of the present village of Kondivita and northwest of the present church.  The major portion of this church is still standing. We do not know when the name of this Condita church was changed from “St. John the Baptist” to “St. John the Evangelist.”  According to the information provided by Fr. Humbert (I: 53) the name had already changed by 1716.

The church at Condita escaped the ravage of the Maratha war, for it continued to have Vicars, now secular priests, appointed to it from 1739 onwards (Humbert, I:141), who also looked after the remnant Christian community at Powai.  Due to the outbreak of a devastating epidemic, Fr. Jose Lourenco Paes, the Vicar of Condita at the time, having built a new church in the village of Marol in 1840, “ transferred the parish from Condita to Marol and the old church and parish house was abandoned” (Humbert II:63). Before the old church fell into disrepair, the statues, the baptismal font, the altars and a few pillars were transferred to the new church at Marol.

At the entrance of the present church of Marol stands a historic 4-foot statue of Our Lady with the child Jesus, known as the statue of OL of Amparo (Help).
 This statue was once venerated in the church of the same name that now lies submerged under the waters of the Vikar Lake.  This statue was brought to Marol between 1842-1853 (Humbert, II: 65, 85),
 when the Bombay Municipality acquired the Vihar Valley with the church in it from the Vicar of Marol for a compensation of Rs.1944.10 as. One of the Baptismal Registers of the church of OL of Amparo (1804-1832) is still preserved at Marol.

Till about the year 1973, Mass was celebrated annually at the ruined church of Condita. This practice was discontinued when the property comprising a picturesque lake and the ruined church was acquired by the Government for


SEEPZ (Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone.) The SEEPZ Authorities intend to preserve the ruined church as a historical monument.

The parish of Marol has given birth to two new parishes: Holy Family at Chakala in 1943 at its western end, and St. Vincent Pallotti in 1981 at its northern end.  However, in spite of these “detachments” the parish of St. John the Evangelist continues to grow due to the influx of Catholics into the numerous Housing Societies in the neighbourhood.

OUR DEMANDS TO THE GOVERNMENT

St. John The Baptist Church

Save Committee

Almeida House, Church Pakhadi, Road No. 2, Sahar, Vile Parle (E), Mumbai-400 099. Tel.: 2837 6600 / 98212 84096

OUR DEMANDS TO THE GOVERNMENT

Since our organization which was formed in 2003 named Saint John the Baptist Church Save Committee. Our dream has come true we thank all those who have helped us to gain back our church.  All political party leaders such as Shiv Sena, Congress “I” even thank the press for giving us coverage which helped in awakening the Authority / Government and also the Bombay Catholic Sabha, The All India Christian Council, The Catholic Secular Forum, The Kerala Catholic Associataion and even the Christians at large.

Our Demands:

1)                   The State/ Central Government should restore the Church to its original glory;[as the property is now seepz] help us in putting the roof and to preserve the sanctity of this church and even declare this as a heritage monument.

2)                   The encroachment on the Ancestral grave yard to be demolished and cleared.

3)                   The Dewool Talav (Natural Lake) be preserved and even the thick forest and medicinal trees be maintained.

4)                   Construct a boundary wall around the place.

5)                   Safe guard the Ancient Monument to maintain the religious sanctity of the place of worship.

6)                   Include this church in category Grade III of the heritage regulation for Greater Bombay 1955.

We are happy today being in this Holy Season of “LENT” (40 days of fasting prayer and penance) We grant that god has heard out prayers and our Dream has come true for we have got back our Holy and first church in the city of Mumbai.

Thank you and hope the Government work quick and give us more results.

Thanking you,

Yours truly,

Mr. Nicholas Almeida

Ex-Councilor President

Title	St. John the Baptist Church, in SEEPZ Mumbai. Built in 1579 by the Portuguese. Now in the restricted SEEPZ area
Author	Nichalp

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                     History

The oldest settlements in and around Andheri were those of the East Indians, the natives whose villages survive in Pump House, Marol (See St. John the Baptist Church), Chakala, Gundowli, Sahar, Saki Naka, etc.
The name Andheri was derived from Udayanagari, the name of a mountain near the Mahakali caves.

Another concentration of the native East Indians was located on the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave.

In the early 1900s, as urbanization spread from Bombay northwards, Marathi, Gujarati and other settlers began to colonize the area.

The English actively encouraged this in order to take off population pressure from the congested city and to increase revenue inflows; however, as a result, the native East Indians came to be swamped, marginalized and their lands were usually expropriated without compensation, even as their access to the sea for fishing was cut, thus destroying their two means of livelihood: agriculture & fishing.

In the 1  50s the     built the Versova Causeway (the Versova Road) between Andheri on Sashti Island and the islet of Versova. The area on both sides of this causeway were rapidly filled in to develop areas now known as Dhake Colony, D.N. Nagar, Four Bungalows, Seven Bungalows, etc.

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16TH CENTURY CHURCH OF ST BONAVENTURE at ERANGEL BEACH

The famous Church of St. Bonaventure, a 16th century Portuguese church is situated on the beach in Erangal. The annual Erangal Feast held on second Sunday of January, celebrating the Feast day of St. Bonaventure, attracts thousands of people of all faiths to this scenic spot. The BirthDay Of St.Bonaventure is Celebrated on 15th of July every year.

Erangal beach (Mumbai Suburban District — Cityguide)

One of the most secluded beaches in Bombay.
Entrance is through Erangal village lanes.
There are the ruins of an old church

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Goa

The history of the Portuguese conquests in India dates from the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498, followed by the acquisition of Cranganore in 1500, Cochin in 1506, Goa in 1510, Chaul in 1512, Calicut in 1513, Damao in 1531, Bombay, Salsette, and Bassein in 1534, Diu in 1535, etc. From the year 1500,missionaries of the different orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Augustinians, etc.) flocked out with the conquerors, and began at once to build churches along the coast districts wherever thePortuguese power made itself felt. In 1534 was created an episcopal see suffragan to Funchal in the Madeiras, with a jurisdiction extending potentially over all past and future conquests from the Cape of Good Hope to China in 1557 it was made an independent archbishopric, and its first suffragan seeswere erected at Cochin and Malacca. In 1576 the suffragan See of Macao (China) was added; and in 1588, that of Funai in Japan. In 1600 another suffragan see was erected at Angamale (transferred to Craganore in 1605) for the sake of the newly-united Thomas Christians (see under EASTERN CHURCHES, Malabar Christians and Uniat Church of Malabar); while, in 1606 a sixth suffragan see was established at San Thome, Mylapore, near the modern Madras. In 1612 the prelacy of Mozambiquewas added, and in 1690 two other sees at Peking and Nanking in China. By the Bulls establishing thesesees the right of nomination was conferred in perpetuity on the King of Portugal, under the titles offoundation and endowment.
The limits between the various sees of India were defined by a papal Bull in 1616. The suffragan seescomprised roughly the south of the peninsula and the east coast, as far as Burma inclusive, the rest of India remaining potentially under the jurisdiction of the archdiocese and this potential jurisdictionwas the actually exercised even outside Portuguese dominions wherever the Faith was extended byPortuguese missionaries. Missionary work progressed on a large scale and with great success along the western coasts, chiefly at Chaul, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, Damao, and Diu; and on the eastern coasts at San Thome of Mylapore, and as far as Bengal etc. In the southern districts the Jesuitmission in Madura was the most famous. It extended to the Kistna river, with a number of outlyingstations beyond it. The mission of Cochin, on the Malabar Coast, was also one of the most fruitful. Several missions were also established in the interior northwards, e.g., that of Agra and Lahore in 1570 and that of Tibet in 1624. Still, even with these efforts, the greater part even of the coast line was by no means fully worked, and many vast tracts of the interior northwards were practically untouched.

The decline of Portuguese power in the seventeenth century, followed as it was by a decline in the supply of missionaries, etc., soon put limits to the extension of missionary work; and it was sometimes with difficulty that the results actually achieved could be kept up. Consequently, about this time theHoly See began, through the Congregation of Propaganda to send out missionaries independently ofPortugal--appointing vicars Apostolic over several districts (The Great Mogul, 1637; Verapoly, 1657;Burma, 1722; Karnatic and Madura, after the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773; Tibet, 1826; Bengal,Madras, and Ceylon, 1834, and others later).


 In certain places where these vicars Apostolic came into contact with the Portuguese clergy, there arose a conflict of jurisdiction. This was particularly the case in Bombay, which had been ceded to the British in 1661. 


Here the Portuguese clergy were at first allowed to remain in charge of the churches, but in 1720, on the ground that they caused disaffection among the people against the British power, they were expelled from the island, and the Vicar of the Great Mogul, with his Carmelite missionaries, was invited to take their place. 


The Holy See, in authorizing this arrangement, did not deny or abrogate the ordinary jurisdiction of the Archbishop ofGoa, but merely intended to make a temporary provision till such time as the British Government should allow the Portuguese clergy to return. (See ARCHDIOCESE OF BOMBAY). Efforts were made from time to time on the part of the Goan party to recover their place, and this ultimately, through a division of the churches 


in 1794, gave rise to the existence of two rival jurisdictions in Bombay--Padroado andPropaganda. The Holy See had for a long time been dissatisfied with the general situation, and especially with the opposition shown to the vicars Apostolic by the Goan prelates and clergy.






NINE PARISHES CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN SALCETTE(GREATER BOMBAY) ;DURING THIS PERIOD OF DOUBLE JURISDICTION


OF THESE FOUR CHURCHES [AT MADH ;SAHAR ;VILE PARLE AND VIKHROLI .]WERE A PEACE FULL DEVELOPMENT UNDER PADROADO.


WHILE FIVE CHURCHES [AT BANDRA,JUHU,ORLEM, KANDIVLI]WERE INFLUENZED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER ;BY THE PADROADO VS PROPAGANDA STRUGGLE


CHAPELS BUILT DURING THIS PERIOD:-
ST FRANCIS XAVIER AT VILE PARLE -1850
ST PETER BANDRA 1853
ST JOSEPH AT JUHU BEACH VILLAGE 1853
OUR LADY OF THE  ASSUMPTION AT KANDIVLI 1861
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL AT BANDRA 1894
OUR LADY OF HEALTH AT SAHAR VILLAGE(NOW AIRPORT)1904
OUR LADY OF THE SEA AT MADH 1905



OUR LADY OF THE SEA AT MADH 1905:-
THE FIRST CHURCH TO BE BUILT IN MADH WAS AT ERANGEL ;SOME 2 KILOMETERS FROM THE PRESENT CHURCH,AT THE NORTHERN END OF THE ISLAND ,NEAR THE BEACH.


THE VILLAGE OF YARANGAL WAS BOUGHT BY THE FRANCISCANS ,IN 1554 AS AN INVESTMENT ;FOR THE UPKEEP OF THE SCHOOL IN POINSURE.


THERE THEY BUILT THE CHURCH OF ST.BONAVENTURE;IN 1599 FOR THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES.


THE FRANCISCANS CARED FOR THIS CHURCH TILL THE MARATHA INVASION OF 1739 ;AFTER WHICH IT PASSED TO THE VICARS OF VERSOVA ,TILL 1839.


IN 1817 WHEN THE CHURCH OF 'O L  OF THE SEA' WAS MADE IN MALVANI IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE ISLAND ;THE CHURCH OF ST .BONAVENTURE WAS ABANDONED.


TILL RECENTLY THE CHURCH WAS IN RUINS ,AS IT IS VERY NEAR THE SEA.


IN 1976 ; WITH THE HELP OF FATHER PETER BOMBACHA THIS CHURCH WAS REPAIRED ;AND BROUGHT BACK INTO USE .


TODAY THERE IS ONLY ONE CATHOLIC FAMILY THERE ; BECAUSE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR ;THE ENGLISH RULERS WERE SCARED OF A LANDING THERE BY THE JAPANESE ARMY .SO THE WHOLE CATHOLIC POPULATION WAS EVACUATED .

 After the revolution of 1834 in Portugal, the expulsion or abolition of the religious orders, and the severing of diplomatic relations with the Vatican came the famous Brief "Multa praeclare" on 24 April, 1838 provisionally withdrawing jurisdiction from the three suffragan sees of Cochin, Cranganore, andMylapore, and assigning their territories to the nearest vicars Apostolic--at the same time implicitly, or at least by subsequent interpretation and enactments, restricting the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Goa to actual Portuguese territory. This Brief was, however, rejected by the Goan party as spurious or at least surreptitious, since they contended that even the Holy See could not rightly legislate in this manner without the consent of the King of Portugal, as was declared in the original Bulls offoundation, etc. The principles underlying this dispute fall outside the scope of the present article, which is concerned solely with the main historical facts.


 The resistance which followed, both inBombay and in other parts of India has uniformly been called the "Goan or Indo-Portuguese Schism" by writers outside the Padroado party; and the term schism occurs frequently in the pronouncements of the Holy See; but the Padroadists themselves have always resented this title on the ground that the fault lay with the Holy See misinformed by the vicars Apostolic, and that they were only contending for their canonical and natural rights, etc. 


In 1857 a concordat was entered into which gave peace for a time, but a final settlement was not arrived at till 1886, when a further concordat was drawn up, and a Bull ("Humanae Salutatis Auctor", 1 Sept., 1886) issued, by which the suspended jurisdiction ofCochin and Mylapore was restored, and a third suffragan diocese (that of Damão) added — all inBritish territory; and after subsequent adjustments the present delimitations were agreed to. 


At the same time the Indian hierarchy was established, and the whole of the country divided into provinces,dioceses, and prefectures Apostolic.

500 years old, Church of St. Bonaventure.

It is a feast of St. BonaventureErangal is a place in Malad West, Mumbai – India.


 This place is full of Wadi’s ( Palm Trees ) & close to the beach surrounded by fisher folks. The famous Church of St. Bonaventure, a 16th century Portuguese church is situated on the beach in Erangal. 


The annual Erangal Feast in January, celebrating the Feast day of St. Bonaventure, attracts thousands of people of all faiths to this scenic spot. Erangal Feast is celebrated since centuries ; every year people wait eagerly for this day.

To celebrate this feast people travel by busses, tongas & bullock carts most of them East Indians. People travelled by bullock carts & tongas start their journey the previous night to reach the destination by early hours of morning. People travelled by buses start as early as 4 am, every year hundreds of buses arrive carrying thousands of people for celebration. The day starts with attending the mass at the famous Church of St. Bonaventure situated on the beach in Erangal.

There after people start enjoying by going for horse rides, camel rides, giant wheels & other rides available on the beach front. There are also stalls for different kinds of games like throwing rings, shooting, football. Some people do live cooking in the wadi’s in open air while others prepare their food at home and bring. Lots of East Indian Bands are being played through out the day. People visit each other and the day is spent eating, drinking & dancing. In the evening the fisher ladies in their traditional dress wearing same colours dance to their music along the beach to celebrate this feast. 

St Bonaventure church (Mumbai Suburban District — Cityguide) ANCENT CHURCH BUILT IN 16TH CENTURY. HISTORY OF ST BONAVENTURE CHURCH BOMBAY:-http://books.google.co.in/books?id=miD5YO05jpUC&pg=PA195-lpg=PA195&dq=HISTORY+OF+ST+BONAVENTURE+CHURCH+BOM