Fr Dominic Dias (centre) with his parishioners in front of St Patrick's Church at Nai Abadi in Amritsar.
The Pilar Fathers landed in Punjab in 1963, which lies in northwest of India. ‘Punj’ means five and ‘aab' means waters and therefore Punjab means ‘Land of Five Rivers.’ The first mission of the Fathers in Punjab was in Bathinda, a town situated about 366 kms northwest of Delhi.
The baptismal records of the parish of Bathinda indicate the presence of Christians there going back as far as 1900. Until 1963, the unit did not have a resident priest. Pastoral help came from visiting priests; the Franciscan Capuchins, then from Pilar Fathers, Fr Mariano Pereira and Fr Peter Mathias who were based at Sirsa.
BATHINDA
In 1963, Bishop John Burke offered the mission of Bathinda to Pilar Society and Fr Anselmo D’Sa was appointed parish priest. At that time, there were about 400 Catholics spread over 26 villages. The first thing he did was to learn Punjabi language. He teamed up with Fr Antonio D’Sa to serve the Catholics.
Within 5 months, 40 more Catholics were added to the fold, which since then has grown into a flourishing parish. The Fathers initially stayed in rented rooms paying Rs 300 a month, an exorbitant sum those days, and celebrated Mass under the water tank of the building of the Railways.
In October 1966, Fr Anselmo bought a plot of land. In 1967, he opened a dispensary, which was the sole source of income for the struggling parish. He focused on carrying the Gospel message to the villages supplementing it with small social welfare projects, like hand pumps for the villagers and soon established a cordial rapport with the villagers. With the facility of a van sponsored by Caritas, he organised the ministry that included weekly stays in the villages.
In October 1969, Bishop Alfred Fernandes of Shimla-Chandigarh diocese blessed the foundation stone of Bal Niketan for the poor boys. In 1984, when the violence was at its peak due to anti-Sikh riots, the Fathers offered a ray of hope by opening an English medium school.
On October 2, 1986, a new Church dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary was inaugurated by Bishop Gilbert Rego. Fr Anacleto Fernandes was appointed parish priest. In 1987 a plot of land was purchased in the Model Town, and a new school building was put up which was inaugurated on April 30, 1989, by the eminent police officer Julio Ribeiro, the then Advisor to the Governor of Punjab. The Fathers set up ‘Xaverian Healthcare and Clinical Lab’ in Bathinda in response to the need of community health action under the aegis of Pilar Outreach Foundation which also runs Learning Centres and Skill Development Centres. The Pilar Sisters Sr Estelina Dias and Sr Pearl D’Mello landed in Bathinda in February 2022 to render their services in the lab.
RAMPURAPHUL
The Fathers ventured into Rampuraphul, 30 kms away from Bathinda, at the invitation of Rampuraphul Education Society to take up their school St Joseph, which was on the verge of closure. On September 15, 1994, the dynamic duo, Fr Menino Gomes and Fr Agnelo Gomes landed there and re-structured and re-named it St Xavier’s School.
TALWANDI SABO
The Fathers purchased land at Talwandi Sabo, 31 kms from Bathinda. Fr Saturnino Mascarenhas and Fr Marden Pereira were deputed in 1995 to do the pioneering work. In 1998, Bal Niketan for poor boys was inaugurated by Fr Stephen Fernandes, Chancellor of Shimla-Chandigarh diocese and on December 18, 2001, Bishop Gerald Mathias of the same diocese raised the unit to the status of a parish dedicating it to Our Lady of Assumption. Fr Alfred Rodrigues was appointed as its first parish priest. In 2011, a beautiful new church was blessed and inaugurated which is now handed over to the diocese of Shimla-Chandigarh.
MANSA
The Fathers opened a school at Mansa in Punjab in 1998. The Kindergarten began in a rented house under the tutelage of Fr Seby Rodrigues and Fr Rosario Antao. The new school building was completed in 2000 which is now handed over to the diocese of Shimla-Chandigarh. The Pilar Sisters landed in Mansa in July 2004 to collaborate with the Fathers in the education and social ministry. All these missions are under Shimla-Chandigarh diocese.
OTHER MISSIONS
In 2014, St Clare Church at Dina Nagar was given to Pilar Society. Fr Lino Santiago was its first parish priest. For a short stint, the Fathers also served at St Mary Church (Sri Hargobindpur), St Joseph Church (Kahnuwan), St George Church (Dera Baba Nanak), St Patrick’s Church (Nai Abadi in Amritsar), Sacred Heart Church (Punga) and St Theresa’s Church (Dhariwal).
In 2017, St Xavier’s School was opened at Satkoha in Gurdaspur district and Fr Albert Fernandes was appointed as its first principal and Mario Fernandes was appointed as parish priest of St Joseph Church Qadian. Later, Fr David Raj served there as a parish priest and at St Padre Pio Church at Naushera Majha Singh, which was given to Pilar Society in 2020.
In 2018, Our Lady of Fatima Church at Sultanpur Lodhi and in 2019, St Michael’s Church at Jaitho in Faridkot district was given to Pilar Society. In 2020, Fr Melito D’Souza was appointed as its first parish priest.
The recent missions established by Pilar Society in July 2022 are: Bhajekhana manned by Fr Rupert Travasso and Fr Vidya Sagar Madhanu and Lohian manned by Fr Aston De Souza and Fr Charles Kisku. All these missions are under Jalandhar diocese.
During the period of insurgency in Punjab from mid-1980s to the mid-1990s by the Sikh militant Khalistan movement, the violence was looming in the region, but the Pilar Fathers braving the dangers of militancy regularly visited the villages to organise Satsang (prayer service) and be with their flock in their hour of terror and grief.
Fr Remy Cardozo and Fr Ivo Dias with their parishioners at Behman Diwana village in Bathinda district.
