Most Holy Redeemer Church
Most Holy Redeemer Church is a historic Roman Catholic Church situated in the locality of Belthangady. It is one of the oldest Churches in the region and has a rich history of over 136 years.
Church History
This first structure of the church came into existence around 1885 and the current church is the 3rd structure. The other two older structures were demolished. In 1682, when Maratha King Sambhaji invaded Goa, some Catholic families fled from Bardez in Goa, to a place called Gaddai, Athyadka and began residing there. In about 1870, Fr. Vaz constructed a chapel here. Originally a part of Agrar Church, the chapel was served from there. During the Goa-Verapoly controversy, some families seceded from Agrar Church and built a small chapel at Gaddai, a village at the foot of the rock fortress Jamalabad. As Athyadka was malaria-prone, the chapel was abandoned in 1890. Fr. Pascal Mascarenhas constructed a thatched chapel at Belthangady. It was pulled down to make way for a stable structure and a temporary church built adjoining the presbytery served for nearly 10 years. This was served from Taccode for some time. There were many Christian officers at Belthangady who helped Fr. Mascarenhas to get a plot.
In 1908, Fr. Piadade D’Souza constructed a new church. Fr. Clifford Dsouza constructed the new parochial house in 1982. Fr. Gregory Dsouza built a chapel at Charmadi. On 10 August 1939, Fr. John G. Pinto established a chapel at Bangady(Indubettu), which became a parish later. Arva(Aladangady), Indubettu and Naravi parishes were carved out of Belthangady. Fr. Rosario Fernandes extended the church.
The centenary celebrations were held during 1985 when Fr. Henry Machado was the parish priest. As the 2nd church building was more than hundred year old and too small to accommodate the present population, the parish assembly had decided to construct the new spacious church together with presbytery and a belfry. The estimated cost of the project is rupees 3 crore rupees. The post-centenary silver jubilee of Holy Redeemer Parish was held on the same day with inauguration of the present church building.
Being located near Jamalabad Fort, built by Mysore ruler Tippu Sultan, this church has a history of more than 136 years. It is a testimony of Christians who sustained faith despite the atrocities of Tippu Sultan. The martyrdom of around eight hundred Christians inspired the faithful to lead a life centered on Christian values. The struggle of Christians and attacks on Churches by Tippu Sultan is now hidden from history due to political reasons to show Tippu Sultan as a hero in southern part of Karnataka.