St Joseph

St Joseph

Contact Details:

St. Joseph’s Church
Belatanr
P.O. Goranji (Kharagadiha),
Dt. Giridih – 815 314,
Jharkhand,
Ph. No. 09431532605.

Parish Priest – Fr. Scaria Kollerette.
Church Established – 1972.

Brief History:

Fr. Jacob Kollamparampil was the pioneer at Belatanr. At first he is reported to have lived in a gun powder hut in the jungle before he built a mud hut. Practically from the scratch in 1972 he was responsible for the construction of the priests’ house, godown and spacious church in 1976. From Belatanr Fr. Jacob supervised the building of the church in Dulabitha Harmathari and Tilkimoron. He negotiated the purchase of the Holy Cross Sisters vast compound and helped them initially with their construction work. He must have baptized over 1500 people in the few years he was there. It may be mentioned that the late Sr. Sigrid H.C. was a great admirer of Fr. Jacob and helped him immensely with his projects. The Holy Cross Hospital at Belatanr is a premier health centre in the area where Dr. Hermaginild H.C. literally brought life back to many patients who were nearly dead with T.B. or other lethal illnesses. Fr. Jacob was followed by Fr. Thomas Kozhimala, Fr. Joseph Mullor, Fr. Chacko Kumpalamchira, and Fr. Scaria Kollerette (2004 – ). The Garhi was separated in May 2007 with a resident priest. Number of Catholics 2500. No. of families 500. Number of villages 50. Distance from Bhagalpur 200 k.m. Belatanr has produced some vocations. Holy Cross Hospital has the distinction of producing a cheap remedy against mosquito bite called “Mosbar” – a soap preparation which when applied will repel mosquitos. It is patented by the Hospital through the efforts of a Holy Cross Sister Nurse – Usha (55).