Udupi: Shirva Parishioners to Celebrate Centenary of Unity on Sep 25

News & Pics: Wilson D’Souza Shirva
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (RD/SB) 

Udupi, Sep 14: Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza will celebrate the thanksgiving Holy Mass at Our Lady of Health Church, Shirva, here on Saturday September 25 at 4.00 pm to commemorate the centenary of unity of lower church and upper church that were amalgamated during 1919. It is indeed a matter of great joy for the people of Shirva come September 15 for it is on the day union of two churches, lower church and upper church completes 100 years.

A quick peek into the history will reveal that under the able leadership of  two stalwart  priests,  Fr Gregory  D’Souza  of  lower  church and Fr Casmir Fernandes of  upper church a  junta meeting was held during which it was decided to have one church for Shirva. It was also decided that both the churches would be pulled down and  a new church would be built at the present site. Accordingly, the foundation stone for the new church was laid on November 9, 1911 by the then Bishop of Mangalore and the church  was inaugurated on February 9 1915 by Bishop Paul Perini.

It is said that Christianity existed in this part of Shirva around 1534 – 1600. The first church was built near Kodi. When Christians returned after deportation by Tipu Sultan a church was constructed and was  called as lower church. it was dedicated to Our Lady of Health. In 1859 under the leadership of Fr Joachim Borgis another church called upper church was built dedicated to St Francis Xavier. The lower church was governed by the padravado system and the upper church by the propaganda fide under the diocese of Verapoly.

The 100 years of unity of both churches is of great significance to the people of Shirva, as it laid a strong  foundation for deeper faith, peace and progress of  Shirva. After Fr Gregory D’Souza, it was Monsignor Hilary Gonsalves who was the architect of modern Shirva with his farsighted vision and its implementation. The subsequent priests and the lay leaders left no stone unturned to build a modern Shirva. 

Shirva today is a forward looking community with its people spread all over the world, holding high posts in administration, commerce, politics and in all spears of  life. The most appreciable factor is that the people of Shirva have kept up their faith. 

The parish community Shirva hopes the unity to continue for centuries to come. Media influence, self-sufficiency, impact of western culture, degeneration of value systems and allurement of various sects among others are disturbing the unity of parish community. The positive efforts will have to be made to express concern for each other, care of the poor, sick and the downtrodden, give opportunities for the marginalized, promote faith and prayer life, which will be the factors contributing for unity.