The Hindu

MANGALORE, April 22: A new church will be named after Mother Teresa here on Monday. The "Saint Teresa of Kolkata church" will be the 156th church of the Mangalore catholic diocese. The work on the church, built in Roman style, was completed recently.

According to the convenor of the inaugural programme, Susheel Noronha, a new parish will become operational with the inauguration of the church. Nearly 250 families belonging to the Kulshekar Holy Cross Church will be part of the new parish.

Th Kulshekar Holy Cross Church is said to have been established in 1873 by Rev. Fr. Alexander Dubois. In 1904, a parish was established there, and it has 1,550 families now.

In 2003, another parish was established including Christians living in the Shaktinagar area at Paldhane. This was the time when the construction of the new church at Paldhane began coinciding with the late Pope John Paul II declaring Mother Teresa as "blessed". Hence, Mother Teresa became the "guardian angel" of the church being named after her.

The church will be inaugurated by Bishop of Mangalore Catholic Diocese Aloysius Paul D'Souza. Vicar General of Mangalore diocese Monsiegner Fred Periera will release a biography on Mother Teresa written by Richard Alvares.