ABOUT US
To trace the origins of the Resurrection Church parish, we need to go back one
hundred years in time…
In 1920, the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd
purchased a property on what was then the outskirts of Bangalore, Old Madras
Road (Swami Vivekananda Road). The original convent, a humble dwelling
known as “Lourdes Villa” (now a heritage building), was blessed in 1922 by the
Bishop Dr Teissier, accompanied by Rev Fr. Fego, a Chaplain of the Good
Shepherd community on Museum Road.
In the same year, the French Sisters started the St. Michael’s Home for unwed
mothers and orphans, and entered into many charitable and philanthropic
activities. Through the will and grace of God reflected in their service, 17
families residing in the area received the gift of God in Baptism from the St.
Michael’s Home Chaplain. Thus, the Catholic village of Michaelpalya was
formed, and the seed for a Catholic community was laid in the area which
would later come to be known as Indiranagar.
But more than 50 years would pass before they would have their own parish
church.
Initially, the faithful belonged to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ulsoor
(Halasuru), which was established in 1938. As the community grew, the Good
Shepherd Church in Murphy’s Town was established in 1967. But with a large
and growing community, the need for a new Church was felt. And so, on land
provided by the Good Shepherd Sisters, the foundation for a church was laid by
His Grace, Archbishop Arokiaswamy in 1976. Three years later, on 29 th
December 1979, Resurrection Church was blessed and opened by His
Eminence, Cardinal Lourduswamy.
For the first 7 years, the Church was placed as a sub-station to the Good
Shepherd Church and the same Parish priest functioned for both churches.
Initially, it functioned purely for Sunday morning Masses by visiting priests (Fr.
Varkey, Fr. Lumen Monteiro, Fr. Tony Thampi Kayala, Fr Herve Morrisett, Fr.
Joe Alphonse, Fr. V. Schembry and Fr. Ignatius). In 1984, daily Masses were
introduced, and by Christmas Day, the hitherto large open spaces inside the
Church were filled with a set of brand new pews. Finally, on November 1 st
1986, the Resurrection Church became a parish with Fr Varkey Valluttuthotil
as the first Priest in charge.
Over the next 30 years, the Resurrection Church slowly grew from its modest
beginnings to its current stature through the vision, support and commitment of
its Parish priests and parishioners.
Although there was a Parish priest, there were no residential facilities for him.
For 2 years, the Parish priest relied on the benevolence of the adjacent Montfort
Brothers of St. Gabriel. To address this need, the next Parish priest, Fr. T.
Antony Swamy built and completed the Presbytery in 1988.
There was no church bell, an essential element for a parish church. A special
fund was collected with generous contributions from the parishioners in 1987.
However, the church tower was too weak to support the bell and further
contributions were collected to build a belfry. Finally, on 15 th August 1989, a
93kg bronze bell was installed and inaugurated.
Due to the construction of houses in extensions like Indiranagar, Thippasandra,
and DRDO Colony, the number of parishioners rapidly grew. The parish did not
have a multi-purpose community hall to cater to the various activities of the
church. Catechism classes were held under the trees and during rainy season,
classes were either cancelled or shifted to the verandas of St. Michael’s convent.
The religious associations’ meetings and choir practice were accommodated
inside the Church, disturbing the worshippers and serenity of the Church.
In the early 1990’s, shortly after Fr. I Anthappa’s appointment as Parish Priest,
an annexe to the Church with three rooms for meetings and other purposes and
a much-needed toilet were constructed. Easter being the Parish feast, a special
Triduum was introduced and Holy Week services were conducted in the open.
With the arrival of Fr. A. Francis Xavier, the Holy Week services were further
enhanced with an emphasis on commentary and attention to liturgical details.
A Marriage and Employment Bureau was initiated. Catholic associations and
organizations like St Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, St Michael’s
Association, St Sebastian’s Welfare Association were active. A youth group
supported by Seminarians from Kristu Jyothi college (SDB) met regularly and
engaged in social service and activities such as taking part in the choir, fund
raising, conducting sports, carol singing and other programmes at Christmas
time- activities that have continued over the years till date.
The Church depended on regular contributions from the parishioners for the
Church repairs and painting and other administrative matters. The acute
shortage of water was a long-standing problem which was overcome in the
1990’s when the pipes were connected to the main and with the help of a
generous donor, a pump was installed. The parishioners came together in 1993
to run a “Fancy Fair” to raise funds. It was similar to the current Mission
Sunday celebrations with an auction [coconuts and chickens], raffle draw, food
sale and games. Apart from the good spirit engendered, the funds raised were
spent mainly on the repairs of the Church roof.
As the Archdiocese had no schools in the area, in 1987, a piece of land behind
the TB Sanatorium that had been gifted by the Good Shepherd Sisters to the
Archdiocese, was handed over to the Resurrection Church for the explicit
purpose of starting a school, a Technical school and a community hall. The
Resurrection School was an urgent need and started functioning in June 1993.
The Congregation of St Anne’s accepted the task of running the school and the
school was handed over to them on a contract.
The Resurrection Technical Training Centre, funded by “Misereor” of
Germany, was blessed and opened by His Grace Archbishop Alphonse Mathias
on 11 th May 1996. It provided vocational skill training in tailoring, welding
fabrication, electrical house wiring, etc for both boys and girls. Over 90 poor
youth were enrolled per year. Scholarships were made available for deserving
candidates. The community hall, the Chemmanur Joseph Memorial hall, was
built on the first floor of the same building. Parishioners made appreciable
donations for the same.
In the year 2000, Fr. Norman Bernard was appointed Parish Priest and during
his 6-year tenure, the Parish grew in numbers as also in matters spiritual.
Adoration services every Friday became the weekly norm with lay involvement
and responsibility for conducting these twice in the month. Weekly intercessory
prayer services were started on Wednesdays. Biennial Retreats were held with
the help of teams from the Divine Retreat Centre. The beautiful Parish hymnal
“Harmony” was the unique compilation effort of Fr. Norman prior to the Parish
Retreat in 2004. During this time, the pews were also replaced.
From 2002 onwards, the Resurrection Technical Training Centre and the Parish
Community Hall had become unviable, resulting in a decision to discontinue
working and leasing of premises to “IDIOM Design and Consulting Limited”.
The commercial lease was concluded in March 2005 between the Archbishop
and the firm, the revenues going to the Archbishop’s House, with the intent to
plough back the resources to future re-building of the Resurrection Church.
Although a cross-sections of Churches were visited, the plans for a new
building could not be completed.
Following the appointment of Monsignor B. Joseph Francis as the Parish
Priest in 2006, the plans for a “mega” church as desired by the Archbishop were
completed. While the new Church cum Presbytery & Pastoral Centre was found
favourable, they were eventually shelved. With a parishioner’s charitable
donation for altar renovation and the availability of parish funds, the altar was
redesigned with the help of a Designer & Contractor parishioner, Mrs Rita
Moses. Modifications included relocation of the Sanctuary with a new
tabernacle, laying the altar floor, lectern and nave with red and white polished
marble, as well as setting icons on the façade of the altar. A false ceiling with
lights and an overhead projection facility was also installed. A new audio
system was installed in late 2009.
In 2010, Monsignor C. Francis took over as the Parish Priest. Despite the new
Church building plans being shelved, Msgr Francis’s initiative and dynamism
paved the way for the new Presbytery and Pastoral Centre. Many
parishioners contributed towards this long-cherished dream. The building
construction commenced on 27 th September 2011, and it was inaugurated by His
Grace, Archbishop Bernard Moras on 3 rd February 2013. Finally, the Church
had adequate residential facilities for the clergy, visiting religious, rooms for
Catechism classes and Auditoria. Later during his tenure, the compound wall
was rebuilt, the grounds paved to facilitate parking, a grotto was built and
CCTV cameras were installed. The evening Sunday Mass was introduced to
meet the spiritual needs of working professionals. The Church was recognized
for being one of the highest Mission Sunday contributors in the Archdiocese.
In 2015, Fr. John Solomon was appointed the Parish Priest. His tenure was a
time of consolidation of the rapid growth of the church. Administration was
streamlined and Parishioner records were meticulously maintained. The statue
of Divine Mercy and the Redeemer in Death, a glass case for Mother Mary,
much-needed cushions for the kneelers and the beautiful Holy Spirit symbol
above the tabernacle were installed. The Konkani and Latin Malayalam services
were also initiated during his tenure. Although plans to resolve the recurring
water crisis was initiated, it could not be completed.
In 2019, Fr. Balraj R took over as the Parish Priest. Much needed repairs were
made to the Church and the compound walls. The interiors of the Church were
painted, and a new set of lights was installed for the Altar and the Church. The
Church’s long standing reliance on water tankers for adequate water supply
finally ended with the digging of a new bore well. With importance given to
gardening, the Church has become greener. The Church Website was renewed
and updated.
The Resurrection Church has grown steadily into a sizeable parish, well known
for its generosity, innovation and liturgical commitment. We hope and pray it
continues to progress as a vibrant spiritual family bringing glory to Almighty
God and never failing in proclaiming the message of salvation of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Saviour.
Compiled from the contributions of: Vice Admiral Adolph Britto, Wing
Commander Davis George, Mr M.A. Das, and the Church records