Inaguration of new shuttle court

A dream come true for the youth in our parish, the shuttle court was finally got ready and was blessed by our beloved Dr.Fr.Antony Thoppil. The first day had around 20 young men to play and of course to watch the game.

Bishop Joseph Karikkassery's family visit.

It was a blessed day for our parish that our Diocese's Administrator Bishop Joseph Karikkassery visited around 40 houses in our parish , from St.Jude and St. Joseph family units. And he also assured our parish priest  that he would like to visit other homes on December 13th and 20th. Here are some of the snaps taken while his visit.

 

Throughout his journey there were our parish priest, family unit heads and a group of youth representing KCYM.

Youth Seminar - conducted by KCYM- Jesus Youth

Starting of seminar: our parish priest with Emmanuel sir.

Memorable Events

 

Blessing of Benny's House by His Highness Most.Rev. Dr. Daniel Acharuparambil

 

 

 

KCYM - The Vibrant Youth in Nedumbassery

KCYM members with Fr. Antony Thoppil during Arthungal church pilgrimage.

KCYM members with Fr. Antony Thoppil during Veegaland tour

 

 

 

Christmas Carol

 

History of St. Antony’s Church, Nedumbassery, Athani

The Beginning

The Latin Catholics who had come to Athani from various districts of Kerala, especially from Ernakulam, Alapuzha and Kollam, and settled here owing to their job did not have their own church nearby. During this period they attended the liturgical services in St. Anne’s Church, Thottakkattukara. This difficulty was presented to the then parish priest Rev. Fr. Kurian Maraparambil and subsequently a family unit was formed including elderly members of the community. As per the directions of Rev. Fr. Kurian the details of 65 families were collected and presented that day in the family unit.

Shri. K. J. Francis assumed responsibility as the President, Shri. Mohan Paul took over as Secretary and Shri.Baby Xavier as Treasurer of the Family Unit. Elderly people were included as members of the Committee.

Ever since the family unit started functioning in 1989, the ‘Way of the Cross’ was conducted on foot from Athani to Thottakkattukkara church on Good Friday every year. Now the ‘Way of the Cross’ on Good Friday starts from Our Lady’s Shrine, Nedumbassery and after encircling Athani town reaches the parish church.

Construction of the Church

The family unit leaders met Archbishop Cornelius at his residence and frequently raised the necessity of a new church at Athani and finally the Archbishop gave the permission to construct the church. But only after a lot of effort, a suitable land could be found. 63 cents of land was purchased near Government L. P. School, Thuruthussery from Shri. Varkey George Kurianchery and wife Baby as per survey no.656/1, 656/4, 656/5C and 656/5D by Rev. Fr. Mark Pallan and registered it in the name of Rev. Fr. Kurian Maraparambil on 11.02.1992. It was a Tuesday. The same day a shed was constructed and holy mass was conducted.

A.    Completion of the Construction of the Church and the first Holy Mass

On February 16, 1992 Msgr. Emmanuel Lopez laid the foundation stone for the church. On January 16, 1994 God helped realize the long-cherished dream of the Latin community at Athani. The Archbishop of Varapuzha, Rt. Rev. Dr. Cornelius blessed the church in the name of St. Antony and offered the first Holy Mass.

B.    The first Parish Feast Celebration

Rev. Fr. Felix Chakkalakkal, who came as the parish priest in Thottakkakara Church after Rev. Fr. Kurian gave leadership to the first Parish Feast Celebrations on June 16, 17 and 18, 1995, and celebrated it with great devotion.

C.    The first Christmas Celebration

On 24th December, 1996 Rev. Fr. Francis Thannikkaparambil celebrated the first midnight Christmas Mass. From 2001 Christmas onwards Christmas star competition, crib competition and Christmas carols are being conducted.

Parochial House

On 13th June 1997, Rt. Rev. Dr.  Daniel Acharuparambil, Archbishop of Verapoly made the Flag hoisting to mark the beginning of the Parish feast celebrations and laid the foundation stone for the parochial house. Accompanied by the Confraternity members the first parish feast procession moved to the Our Lady’s Shrine. It was followed by cultural programmes under the auspices of the family unit. The parochial house was blessed on 10th February, 1998 by Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil.

Our Lady’s Shrine

Near Athani Mar Athanasius High School by the side of the National Highway, on the land donated by Shri. Anthikat Xavier, an Our Lady’s Shrine was built and it was blessed by Rev. Fr. Joseph Etturuthil on 15th August 1996. There was a solemn Mass afterwards. On Christmas Night of 2004, St. Antony’s statue was blessed and placed on the top of the shrine.

The Church Cemetery

The role of the then parish priest Rev. Fr. Xavier Aravindassery in holding discussions for building the cemetery and getting sanction from the collectorate after removing legal obstacles and also in getting financial assistance from the Archbishop’s House deserves special mention. Rev. Fr. Michael Thalakketty also worked hard in completing the construction of the cemetery using funds gathered from the parish members. On November 1st, 2003 the blessing ceremony of the cemetery was held.

Family Unit Anniversary

On February 22nd, 1998 the first anniversary of the family unit was celebrated. A warm farewell was also given to Rev. Fr. Yesudas Pazhampilly who had offered services in the parish till that day.

The family units which were geographically demarcated as A,B,C,D and E started functioning as St. Anne’s, St. Joseph, Infant Jesus, St. Xavier’s and St. Mary’s respectively from 2002 onwards.

Daughters of Nazareth Convent

On 17th June 1996, Daughters of Nazareth Convent started functioning in the parish. The Superior Rev. Sr. Mary Judit, Sr. Jancy, seven novices and four postulants joined as members of the convent. The parish receives the services of the reverent sisters of this convent even today.

Parish Hall

For the construction of the Parish Hall coupons were distributed with the help of PTA of the Catechism unit in September 2001 and subsequently in January 2002 lucky draw was held.

Rosary Month

The concluding ceremony of the first Rosary month of the parish was celebrated in October 2002 starting from the Our Lady’s Shrine and accompanied by lighted lamps reached the church and ended with the Holy Mass.

Sunday Evening Mass

With respect to the Year of the Eucharist in 2006, evening mass on Sundays commenced.

Pious Organizations

As a result of the efforts of priests and members of the parish, organizations like KLCA, KCYM, St. Vincent De Paul Society, Mother’s Forum, St. Antony’s Death Relief Fund are actively functioning.

Roads to the Church

Now there are convenient roads to Mekkad and towards the Highway in the East.

Sacred Heart Shrine and St. Joseph’s Shrine are also part of the church.

Priests who served the Parish

After Rev. Fr. Felix Chakkalakkal in 1995, Rev. Fr. Joy Parappilly,

Rev. Fr. Ambrose Arakkal served as Parish priests and Rev,

Fr. Yesudas Pazhampilly and

Rev. Fr. Terrance Palliparambil have served as Assistant parish priests.

Rev. Fr. Xavier Aravindassery,

Rev. Fr. Michael Thalakketty and

Rev. Fr. Raymond Pallan have also served here as parish priests.

Subsequently, from November 2007 onwards Rev. Fr. Antony Thoppil is serving as the Parish priest.

Memorable Days

2003, November 23     - Reception to the statue of Queen of Holy Rosary

2003, December 13       -Reception to the Holy Relic of St. Antony.

2004, June 1                -Reception to the Holy Relic of St. Jude.

The History of St. Antony - Saint of Padua

Fernando Martins de Bulhões, venerated as Antony of Padua or Antony of Lisbon, (1195 – 13 June 1231) is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.

Antony was born in Lisbon to Martim Vicente de Bulhões and wife Teresa Pais Taveira (a descendant of Alfonso VI of Castile - and thus a half-third cousin once removed of King Afonso II of Portugal, and brother of Pedro Martins de Bulhões (ancestor of the de Bulhão/de Bulhões family), in a very rich family of the nobility who wanted him to become educated; however these were not his wishes. His family arranged sound education for him at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, Antony entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St Augustine, of which he was a member, were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits. Antony studied Scripture and the Latin classics.

After his ordination, Antony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Antony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscan friars. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Antony meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans. He wanted to obey God's call to leave everything and follow Him. Antony obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order.

On the return trip to Portugal, his ship was driven by storm upon the coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made his way to Assisi and sought admission into a monastery in Italy, but met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, Italy, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he appears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen.

One day, on the occasion of an ordination, when a great many visiting Dominican monks were present, there was some misunderstanding over who should preach. The Franciscans naturally expected that one of the Dominicans would occupy the pulpit, for they were renowned for their preaching; the Dominicans, on the other hand, had come unprepared, thinking that a Franciscan would be the homilist.

In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who had no one among his own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon Antony, who he suspected was most qualified, and engineered him to speak hatever the Holy Spirit should put into his mouth. Antony objected but was overruled, and his sermon created a deep impression. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers.

At that point, Antony was commissioned by Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, to preach the Gospel throughout Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. From then on his skills were used to the utmost by the Church. Occasionally he took another post, as a teacher, for instance, at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse—both in southern France—but it was as a preacher that Antony revealed his supreme gift.

In 1226, Pope Gregory IX. At the Papal court, his preaching was hailed as a "jewel case of the Bible" and he was commissioned to produce "Sermons for Feast Days."

Antony became ill with dropsy and, in 1231, went to the woodland retreat at Camposampiero with two other friars for a respite. There Antony lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Saint Antony died on 13 June 1231 at the Poor Clare convent at Arcella on the way back to Padua at age of 36.

When he died, it is said that the children cried in the streets and that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord, rung by angels come to earth to honour the death of the saint. He is buried in a chapel.

Antony of Padua is one of the most beloved of saints; his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called "Evangelical Doctor". He is especially invoked for the recovery of lost things.

Each year on the weekend of the last Sunday in August, Boston's North End holds a feast in honor of St. Antony. Referred to as the "Feast of all Feasts", St. Antony's Feast in Boston's North End was begun in 1919 by Italian immigrants from Montefalcione, a small town near Naples, where the tradition of honoring St. Antony goes back to 1688. The feast has become the largest Italian religious festival in the United States.

On January 27, 1907 in Beaumont, Texas, a church was dedicated and named in honor of St. Antony of Padua. The church was later designated a cathedral in 1966 with the formation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, but was not formally consecrated. On April 28, 1974, St Antony Cathedral was dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Warren Boudreaux. In 2006 Pope Benedict XVI granted St. Antony Cathedral the designation of minor basilica. St. Antony Cathedral Basilica celebrated its 100th anniversary on January 28, 2007.

Seventeenth century Spanish missionaries came across a small Native American community along what was then known as the Yanaguana River on the feast day of Saint Antony and renamed the river and eventually a mission built nearby in his honor. This mission became the focal point of a small community that eventually grew in size and scope to become the city of San Antonio, Texas.

St. Antony is known in Brazil and Portugal as a marriage saint, because legend has him as one who conciliated couples. His feast day, June 13, is Lisbon's municipal holiday, celebrated with parades and marriages of humble couples, and he is one of the saints celebrated in the Brazilian Festa Junina (along with John the Baptist and Saint Peter). The previous day, June 12, is the Brazilian Valentine's Day.

In Uvari, in Tamil Nadu, India, the church of St.Antony is home to an ancient wooden statue that is said to have cured the entire crew of a Portuguese ship suffering from cholera. St Antony is said to perform many miracles daily, and Uvari is visited by pilgrims of different religions from all over South India.