One of the significant aspects of Pune’s multi-culturalism is the
presence of more than 80 cathedrals, churches and chapels in the city itself,
and perhaps another fifty more in the district. The oldest ones go back more
than 220 years in the history of the city. On Christmas day, tomorrow, these
churches will be lit up, giving the city a resplendent glow. Sakàl Times tells
the story of these magnificent structures
The presence of Christian soldiers in the Maratha and British armies in
Pune necessitated the construction of churches catering to their religious
needs, which led to the establishment of some of the oldest churches in the
city, in the early and mid-19th century.
St Mary’s Church on Solapur Road in Pune Camp, which was built in 1823
for soldiers and officers in the British army, is the oldest church structure in
the city. In keeping with the tradition that time, a capsule containing the
names of British India’s governor general Warren Hastings, Mumbai governor
Mountstuart Elphinstone and other East India Company officials was buried at the
church site during the stone-laying ceremony in June, 1821.
The Church of Immaculate Conception or City Church is the oldest Catholic
church in the city. The land was gifted by Peshwa Madhavrao II and the first
Mass (religious gathering) was held on Christmas day in 1792, and a structure
made of mud and mortar was built in 1794. The present structure was constructed
only in 1852.
St Patrick’s Cathedral has been built on the land gifted by the British
government in 1850. While St Paul’s Church, located behind the police
commissionerate, was erected in 1867 on the lines of the St Chapelle Church in
Paris. The cost of construction came up to Rs 90,000 at that time. The
structure, however, suffered heavy damages in a fire on July 5, 1900.
The foundation stone of the St Mathew’s Marathi Church on Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar Road was laid in 1893. This church catered to the city’s
Marathi-speaking population.
St Andrew’s Church near the Race Course, which bore the brunt of a major
fire in October this year, was built by the Church of Scotland in 1861. The
church had a seating capacity of 500 people at the time.
Christ Church near Quarter Gate, which was built in 1896, is also one of
the oldest churches in the city. A majority of the old Catholic and Protestant
churches are in Pune Camp, Wanowrie and Khadki where the British military
establishments were located.
The Panch Haud Church, Brother Deshpande Memorial Church (Kasba Peth) and
St Crispin’s Church near Nal Stop on Karve Road are the only churches in the
heart of the city. The Catholic Church’s major religious institutes – the Papal
Seminary and the De Nobili College – were started at Ramwadi on Nagar Road six
decades ago. A large number of Catholic religious congregations also established
their centres near these two institutes. This led to the concentration of the
migratory Christian population in Yerawada and Vadgaonsheri on Nagar Road. So,
many churches came up in these areas over the last few decades.
St Francis Xavier’s Church, which was built in 1973, was the first
Catholic church in Pimpri Chinchwad and it catered to the Goan and Tamil
populations who had migrated from the neighbouring Ahmednagar and Aurangabad
districts to the industrial hub. Subsequently, four more churches were opened in
Pimpri-Chinchwad to meet the needs of the growing Christian population.
Since the Christian community in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad is
multi-lingual, most Catholic churches celebrate the Mass in English, Marathi,
Konkani, Tamil as well as Malayalam. A few churches also cater exclusively to
the Marathi, Tamil and Malayalam speaking communities in the city.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
The construction of any church is financed by its members who contribute
their own share, while also raising a building fund. The Pune Catholic Diocese
offers a share of the construction cost. If the local community undertakes the
building of a new church, the Pune diocese offers 50 per cent of the
construction cost. The new churches that came up on Nagar Road and in
Pimpri-Chinchwad during the last decade were built on this principle.
Fr Simon Almeida, who has presently undertaken the construction of a new
building for St Francis Xavier’s Church in Chinchwad, says, “It is the
responsibility of the local people to build a church for themselves. The
priest’s job is to build the community. Therefore, the lay leaders undertake
various activities to raise the construction funds.” Sometimes, when local
parishioners are unable to raise 50 per cent of the construction cost, the
diocese has to bear more than its share of the amount. The diocese receives its
funds from monthly collections given by various churches under its jurisdiction.
Fr Almedia says that every Catholic church is required to give its
donation collections of two Sundays of every month to the Pune diocese. The
diocese utilises these funds for various activities. “Besides this, parishioners
of other churches are also expected to contribute for the construction of
churches in other localities,” he adds.
–Inputs by Camil Parkhe
ROYAL GESTURE
It was Peshwa Madhavrao II who gifted a piece of land for the
construction of a church for the Catholic soldiers in the Maratha army. The
Catholic soldiers included Goans, British and Portuguese nationals. The Peshwa
also contributed a sum for building of the church, which eventually came to be
called City Church. Later, when the British came to rule over Pune, they gifted
one bigha (three acres and 14 gunthas) land to build the present structure of
the church that we see today. The Portuguese government in Goa had offered a
substantial subsidy in its construction. The British government had also gifted
land and a grant of Rs 2,000 for the construction of the St Patrick’s Chapel,
the present cathedral and seat of the Pune diocese. Records show that many
Catholic soldiers in the British army donated a full month’s salary too.
CHURCHES IN PUNE AND
PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD
CATHOLIC CHURCHES
- Church of Immaculate Conception (City Church) (1792)
- St Ignatius Church, Khadki (
1833)
- St Patrick’s Cathedral, near Empress Garden (1850)
- The Church of Holy Name, Guruwar Peth
(1885)
- St Xavier’s Church, Pune Camp
(1862)
- St Crispin’s Church, Nal Stop, Karve Road (1901-02)
- St Joseph’s Church, Ghorpuri
(1959)
- St Teresa’s Church, Guruwar Peth
(1963)
- Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Tadiwala Road (1965)
- St Anthony’s Church, Model Colony
(1969)
- St Francis Xavier’s Church, Chinchwad (1972)
- Our Lady of the Afflicted Church, Pimpri
(1978)
- St Anne’s Church, Solapur Bazaar
(1983)
- Sacred Heart Church, Yerawada
(1984)
- St Alphonsa Church, Kalewadi, Pimpri (1986)
- Resurrection Sub-Centre, Kalas Gaon
(1987)
- St Francis De Sales, Ahmednagar Road
(1988)
- Mother Teresa Centre, Hadapsar
(1996)
- Holy Cross Church, Dapodi
(1998)
- Infant Jesus Church, Nigdi
(1998)
- Holy Trinity Church, New Sangvi
(2000)
- Divine Mercy Church, Vadgaonsheri
(2004)
- Good Shepherd Church
(2011)
- Christ The King Church, Vadgaonsheri
(2011)
- St Sebastian’s Chapel, NDA *
- Holy Family Chapel, Lohegaon *
- Wakad Mass Centre, Wakad *
- Holy Redeemer Malankara Catholic Church, Kalewadi *
- St Anthony’s Malankara Catholic Church, Vishrantwadi *
- St Mary’s Malankara Church, Khadki *
- St Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, Warje, Malewadi *
- St John’s Marthoma Parish, Pune-Mumbai highway, Khadki *
PROTESTANT CHURCHES
- St Mary’s Church, Solapur Road, Pune Camp (1823)
- The Church of Holy Name, Guruwar Peth
(1885)
- Christ Church, Quarter Gate
(1896)
- St Paul’s Church, behind Pune police commissionerate, Pune Camp (1867)
- St Mathew’s Marathi Church, Dr Ambedkar Road, Pune Camp (1893)
- Poona Diocesan Council Church of North India, Staveley Road, Pune Camp
*
- All Saints Marathi Church, Khadki *
- Bethel Church, Vadgaonsheri *
- Brother Deshpande Memorial Church, Kasba Peth *
- Church of Holy Angel, Rasta Peth *
- CNI Church, Dhanori *
- St Anne Church, Solapur Bazaar *
- St Luke Church, Phule Nagar *
- St Mary Church, Khadki *
- St Paul’s Malayalam Church, Khadki *
- Sutarwadi CNI Church, Pashan *
- United Church of Christ, Pimpri *
- Hindustani Methodist Worship Centre, Khadakwasla *
- Methodist Kannada Church, Khadki *
- Methodist Marathi Church, Yerawada *
- Methodist Marathi Church, Bhosari *
- Methodist Tamil Church, Nigdi *
- Methodist Tamil Church, Khadki *
- Oldham Memorial Methodist Church, East Street *
- Methodist English Church, Khadki *
- St Andrew’s Hindustani Church, near Race Course *
- Vineyard Workers Church, Dapodi *
* Exact year of establishment not available
PUNE:
Taking a cue from the special Diwali issues which make a turnover of crores of
rupees in the Marathi publication industry every year, some Christian magazines and mediapersons in
Pune and other parts of the State have now started publishing Christmas special
issues, which are getting a good response. 
What
have been your priorities after taking over as Pune Bishop?