St. Vincent De Paul Church
OUR HISTORY
Beyond the village of
Kantwadi, Malla, Rajan and Sherley – Northern costal villages of the once
extensive parish of St. Andrews, Bandra – lay the village of Chuim, which also
formed part of that parish for more than 300 years.
During the year 1943
On the
3rd of January; Archbishop Roberts from the Society of Jesus (SJ)
issued a decree, creating the Parish of St. Anne, Bandra, simultaneously
raising Chuim to the status of an independent Parish.
On the 9th of
January
Fr M. M. Balaguer SJ, Vicar General of Bombay, blessed the ground
floor of St. Elias School (previously known as Mt. Mary’s School), at the
western end of Chuim village, as a place of worship for the new Parish which
was dedicated to St. Vincent De Paul.
In the year 1963
The school
was shifted to the newly constructed building on the eastern boarder of Chuim
village. The parish fathers also transferred their residence to these premises.
Sunday mass began to be celebrated in the School hall.
In 1969
A small church was
erected at the side of the school and this functioned as the place of daily
worship.
During the year 1971
The
old edifice, which had served as a church – cum- primary school in the early
days of the parish, was handed over to the Daughters of the Heart of Mary to be
developed into a Community Welfare Center.
On the 3rd of
October 1976
Auxiliary Bishop Longinus Pereira laid the Foundation stone for
the new Church building.
In the year 1981
On the 11th
of October, Archbishop Simon Pimenta blessed the new church building. The old
church was retained as an adjunct to the new Church.
