St. Thomas Church – Jhajha
Contact Details:
St. Thomas Church
Jhajha
P.O. Jhajha,
Dt. Jamui – 811 308,
Bihar,
Phone: 06349-223888, 09431214405.
Parish Priest : Fr. Chrisostom Besra – Principal
Church Established – 1950.
Brief History:
Jhajha being a Railway Colony had catholics for over 50 years. But there was no resident priest there. It was taken care of from Chakai. It was Fr. Daniel T. Rice S.J. who built the church there. Fr. Thomas Vetticad was the first diocesan priest stationed at Jhajha. Baptismal Register shows the names of Fr. Daniel T. Rice S.J. (1966-70); Fr. Thomas Vetticad (1969-72); Fr. A. C. Mathew (1972-74); Fr. Joseph Cheruchilampil (1975); Fr. George Thymoottil (1982-83); Fr. Jerry Barboza (1983-88); Fr. Joachim Viegas (1988-89); Fr. John Hembrom (1997-98); Fr. A. C. Mathew (2nd time) 1998-2005; Fr. Chrisostom Besra (2006- ). There is sub-station, Gotari where Mass is celebrated now and then. Total number of Catholics (regular) only 100. Families 50; village 25. During holidays the numbers drop drastically. Fathers-in-Charge also acted as Principals of the English Medium School upto 10th Standard. Fr. Chrisostom has made a lot of modifications at the presbytery and the school. The whole place is done up with artful designs. The cemetery is used for both Catholics and Protestants.