History
It was on June 21, 1987 that the Sacred Heart Parish, Andheri (East) was established by the Archdiocese of Bombay and entrusted to the pastoral care of The Society of Divine Word [Societies Verbi Divine] (SVD) Fathers. However, its history and origins can be traced back to a glorious past, steeped in the rich culture and traditions of our country:
Christian presence in the area
It is believed that in the 1st Century A. D. St. Bartholomew, one of the 12 Apostles of Christ visited India’s citerior (citerior refers to Salsette) on the Western Coast of India near Kalyan.
The Conception of the Sacred Heart Chapel: History behind history
The very idea of the Sacred Heart Church in the area emerged out of a decision taken in 1979 by the then Parish Priest of the Holy Family church, Fr. Fredrick Sopena S.J. He gave up the comforts of his abode of the Parish Priest of Holy Family Church and decided to reach out to the poor; true to Christian values. On June 1, 1979 a part of his residence in the chawl was converted into the Sacred Heart Chapel where the first Holy Mass was celebrated. This can be treated as the real beginning of the Parish although, then it was only a chapel of the Holy Family Church. By the late seventies there were over 80 catholic families living in this area and more were moving in. In 1984 it was estimated through census of Sacred Heart Chapel, that there were nearly 500 catholic families living in this area.
The Birth of the Sacred Heart Parish
It was on June 21, 1987 that the Sacred Heart Parish was born at a concelebrated mass held at Canossa Basement Hall. The main celebrant of the mass was Bishop Ferdinand Fonseca. While the Bishop announced the birth of the parish, Fr. Joseph Panthalathy, the then Provincial Superior of the Southern India province of SVD, announced that one acre land of SVD will be earmarked for the use of the Parish. After the mass at a function, Fr. F. Sopena, S.J. was given a most affectionate and moving send off. Fr. Joseph Lopez SVD the first Parish Priest of the newly constituted parish was welcomed.
Humble beginnings of Sacred Heart Parish
Fr. Joseph Lopez, the Parish Priest together with two young trainee priests was deputed to the parish for one year – Fr. Augustine Rodrigues and Fr. Joseph Kalanchjira began their work of setting up the new parish office at the ground floor rooms of the Institute of Indian culture.
Construction phase
The building committee set to work with all earnestness. The consuming and difficult phases of plan approval of the building through changes, modifications, alterations etc. at the levels of Archbishop’s office, Municipal Corporation and City Survey Office etc., including change of Architect has to be gone through. Besides N.A.Permission, clearance on Urban Land Ceiling Act – provisions and host of other formalities had to be completed with. In the history of a parish, as in the life of any individual or in the history of any institution, there was a difficult period. It was the years 1994, 1995 and 1996. The unfortunate happenings of this period led to court cases being filed against our parish to bring about legal impediments to the construction of the church building. Nothing could stop God’s work and our Church building stands to-day as testimony to the power of prayer. In June 1996 Fr. Walter Mendonca took over the reins of the parish. A few months later Fr. John Mascarenhas SVD joined him as an assistant and then a year later Fr. Salvador Serrao SVD came as an assistant in place of Fr. Innocent Fernandes SVD. In 1997 a new architect was appointed and new plans were drawn and approved.
Spiritual Growth
The transformation of the exteriors of the church from a poultry shed to the present structure of elegance was amazing. The spiritual growth of parishioners over the years was also equally astounding.
