Holy Cross Church, Kurla
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Holy Cross Church, Kurla is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
Church in Kurla, a suburb of
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, India. It was built during the Portuguese era by the
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
in 1588 and rebuilt in 1848. It is one of the oldest churches in Mumbai. The church belongs to the
Archdiocese of Bombay The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay is a particular church celebrating the Latin Rite of worship, centred in the Bombay (Mumbai) city of the northern Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The archdiocese has been a Metropolitan see since ...
.


History

St. Francis Xavier had written the King of Portugal, requesting land near the village of Kurla on Salcette Island to build a church and residence. On 22 February 1570, King
Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and hi ...
wrote from Evora confirming the donation of the Villages of Bandra and Kurla, as well as Saki and Mohili in favour of the Jesuits of St. Paul's College of Goa. This was because Goa was the headquarters of the Jesuits of Asia and St. Francis Xavier was the first Provincial Superior of India and the Far East. On 1 November 1572 this donation was re-affirmed by the Royal Court of Lisbon. The Jesuits came to Kurla and Bandra in 1573 and the first small Chapel was built in the same year. References were made in 1580 to "the Church built by the Jesuits of Bandra in 1580". By 1586, two Priests and two Brothers, residing at Bandra, cared for the parishioners of Kurla, spelt by the Portuguese of the time as "Curulem" or "Corlem". The Jesuits used to come on Sundays and Feast days of obligation to celebrate Mass, teach Catechism and help Catholics. The Church was initially called "Iglesia de San Salvador" (Church of Our Holy Saviour). The name was then changed to 'Invencao de Santa Cruz', Church of the finding of the Holy Cross which was soon shortened to "Church of the Holy Cross", presumably due to special devotions to the Cross of Christ as mentioned in the Annual Letters to Rome of Jesuits of India, found in the Monumenta Historica Societatis lesu and the Documenta Indica. During 1669 to 1739, The British ruled the Seven Islands of Bombay while
Salsette Island Salsette Island is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra on India's west coast. Administratively known as Greater Mumbai, the city district of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban District, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thane lie wi ...
was still in Portuguese hands. The Jesuit Church and the houses of Kurla were frequently threatened by bombardment from the
Sion Hillock Fort The Sion Hillock Fort is a fort in Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was built under the regime of the English East India Company, between 1669 and 1677, atop a conical hillock when Gerard Aungier was the Governor of Bombay. It was notified in 1925 ...
, situated on the northern end of Bombay. Whenever the British had any grievances against the Portuguese, Kurla and Bandra, which lay immediately across the Mahim creek, suffered from these bombing reprisals. In 1739, the Church fell into the hands of the
Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
, and the Jesuits had to return. The Diocesan clergy then took over the administration of the parish. The most drastic changes to the parish started taking place in the middle of the 20th century due to the continued influx of Catholics into the city and its Suburbs. The Catholic population increased appreciably which led to the carving of six new parishes from the original parish of Kurla. Our Lady of Fatima Church, kirol in 1953, St. Joseph, near
Kurla Railway Station Kurla (formerly Coorla, station code: C) is a railway station on the Central and Harbour lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It is among the oldest railway stations in India, it being part of the original 21 mile (33.8 km) Great ...
in 1968, St. Jude, Jeri Meri in 1972, St. Anthony,
Saki Naka Saki Naka is a neighbourhood in Andheri east, Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. Accordin ...
in 1975, Holy Family, Pestomsagar in 1982 and Infant Jesus,
Ghatkopar Ghatkopar (Pronunciation: ʱaːʈkopəɾ is a suburb in eastern Mumbai. The area is served by the railway station on the Central Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway and the metro station on Line 1 of the Mumbai Metro. History Ghatkopar in ...
in 1983 were established as independent parishes. At the turn of the century, the need for more accommodation in the church was felt and an extension and renovation of the Church structure was undertaken. Ivan Cardinal Dias released and inaugurated this project on 5 May 2004.


Parish Fiesta

The Church celebrates its feast on the 3rd day of May every year. Since 2015 the local community of
East Indians The East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or Bombay East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay and the neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Area of the Konkan Division. His ...
from the Kurla Christian Village organise a festival known as ''Holy Cross Parish Fiesta'' every year to celebrate the church feast There are float parades, East Indian singing competitions, East Indian Band, fancily dressed people, horsecarts taking part in the celebration. Villagers from
Gorai Gorai ( oɾaːi is a village at Dharavi Bhet, in Mumbai, India. It is located on the North-western part of the island of Salsette. Gorai is accessed more usually by a ferry crossing the Manori Creek and Gorai creek or otherwise by the over ...
,
Manori Manori is a village located on Dharavi Bet in northern Mumbai, India. It is known for its beach and the Manori Creek. Transportation * Manori can be reached by road via Bhayander, Dahisar Check naka. * The sea route, however, is relatively ...
,
Kanjur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur or Kanjur ('Translation of the Word') and the Tengyur or Tanjur (Tengyur) ('Translation of Treat ...
,
Malad Malad (Pronunciation: aːlaːɖ is a suburb located in North Mumbai. Malad has a railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on ra ...
,
Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...
,
Kalina Kalina may refer to: People * Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of the northern coastal areas of South America * Kalina language, or Carib, the language of the Kalina people * Kalina (given name) * Kalina (surname) * Noah Kalina, ...
,
Vakola Santacruz or Santa Cruz (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːn̪t̪akɾuːz is a neighbourhood of Mumbai. The Santacruz railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, the domestic terminal (T1) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Internatio ...
,
Vile Parle Vile Parle (, also known as Parle, pronounced "Parle" or "Parla"), is a neighbourhood and also the name of the railway station in the Western suburb of Mumbai. Vile Parle has a significantly strong base of Marathi and Gujarati population. It s ...
,
Sahar Sahar may refer to: People * Sahar (name), Arabic feminine name or Hebrew unisex name * Sahar (singer), Iranian singer, musician and dancer. * Sahar Aslam, former Scottish international cricketer. * Sahar Ansari, Urdu poet and linguist from Karachi ...
and
Marol Marol is a locality in the suburb of the Andheri (East) in Mumbai, India. History The area has been inhabited for centuries, successively coming under both Portuguese and British rule. The village is filled with the Dawoodi Bohra community. Th ...
also join in the celebration. On 05 May 2019, Fr. Milton Gonsalves released a book named Holy Cross Kurla which described the history of Kurla.


References


External links


Official Parish Web Site
{{Catholicism Roman Catholic churches in Mumbai Churches completed in 1588 1588 in India 1848 in India Rebuilt churches in India 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India