Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Contact Details

Holy Spirit Church
Manapad
Tuticorin Dt
Pin : 628 209.
Ph.No : 04639-226233.

Brief History:

The first church at the coastal village of Manapad was Our Lady of Assumption church. This was a beautiful stone church according to the Jesuit records of 1521. In 1659 the Dutch captured this church and kept their armaments in it and in time destroyed it. History has it that these stones were used to build the present day Holy Spirit church in 1851. It is in the destroyed old church of Our Lady of Assumption was the grave of the famous Jesuit priest Fr. Joseph Beschi alias “Veeramamunivar”. In accordance with the contract made by Pope Leo XIII with the Portuguese government on the 23 rd of June 1886 , the Holy Spirit church was joined with Mylapore diocese. This church came under the governance of Thoothukudi diocese as per the contract signed by Pope Pius XIII with the Portuguese government on the 29 th of June 1929 . After this Fr. Swaminather became its first parish priest. Chevalier J.A. Donatus Victoria of this parish helped to renovate the old church. With the efforts of Fr. Sebastian D’Souza the steeples of the church were built in 1913. On the occation of the 400 th jubilee of the coming of St. Francis Xavier to Manapad in 1942, renovation of the church and steeples took place once again with the help of Mr. Victoria and blessed by Bishop Roche. Fr. Lawrence Xavier Fernandez, who was ordained at Our Lady of Rosary church in Mylapore on the 25 th of November 1984 is the first priest from this parish.

Parish Priests:

Fr. Martin 1991-1994
Fr. James Peter 1994

Patron Saint : Holy Spirit