Vellore Diocese

The Mission of Jalarpet was at its inception a part of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry unfortunately one does not find in the archives any record of the exact date of its inauguration. The earliest entry in the Register of Baptism bears the date of the 8th of September 1840. From 1840 till 1928 the Register of Baptisms contains the names of about thirty Parish Priests who worked in this Mission In 1928, when the Archdiocese of Madras was entrusted to the Salesian Congregation, the Mission of Jalarpet was attached to Madras, from 1930 onwards Salesian Priests manned this Mission off and on, When the new Diocese of Vellore was formed in 1952, the Mission of Jalarpet came under it. At that time Magt. M. Menezes, diocesan priest, was Parish Priest of Jalarpet I 1961 V. Rev. Fr. John Med sD.R. the then Provincial of the Salesians, sent Fr. Guezou sD.D. to the Yellagiri Hills in order to do pre-evangelization work there. Fr. Guezou worked very hard for the educational and social uplifment of the poor in habitants of the Hill and soon wen all their heart, in order to facilitate the apostolic activities of Fr. Guezou in the Yellagirt Hilla, Megr. Duvid Marianayagam appointed him a Parish Priest of Jalarpet in July 1964, Msgr. M. Menezes was transferred to Arkonam. Since Fr. Guezou did not know Tamil, Fr. Louis S.D.B, was assigned as Assistant Parish Priest He was also put in charge of the Salesian Mobile Unit of Catholic formation. In October of the same year the sister of St. Charles at the invitation of Ft. Geezou and with the permission of the Bishop of Vellore opened a Convent in Jalarpet. They run a dispensary and do social work in and around the Parish. They are conducting also a Tailoring School for girls. They run a Dispensary in Yellagiri also. In May 1964, the sisters of St. Francis of Assisi from Vepery Madras, at the Invitation of Magr. David Marianayagam S.B.D., opened a convent in this Parish they are in charge of the Parish Middle School Fr Guezou was pastor of this Pariali for thirteen long years and they were yours of All-round improvement. The first work he undertook was the remodelling and extending the Chapel at Veppampattu. It was completed on 11-2-65. Next, he took up the new School Building As the construction was in progress, Ft. Guezou realized that 1966 was the centenary year of his Parish. So, very solemn functions were conducted to commemorate such an important occasion. Msgr. David Marianayangam himself came to preside over those functions on the 29th, 30th and 31st of May 1966. The new School Building was completed and blessed on 31-1-67, the feast of St. John Bosco. From 1967 till 1971, every succeeding year, new building saw the light of day either in Jalarpet or in the Yellagiri Hills. Thus, the new and imposing Rectory was completed for Christmas 1967 And St. David’s Convent as well as St. Charles Convent Talarpet ware blessed in September and October 1968. On the 2nd of March 1969 the Convent Building on the Yallagiri was blended by His Excellency the Most Rev. Caprio, the Pro-Nuntio who paid a visit to this Parish. As the Climax of the building operations, the new spacious and magnificent Parish Church was blessed and dedicated to divine worship by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Lazar S.D.B., the Vicar Capitular on 6-2-1970. The small but beautiful Chapel in the Yellogiri Hills was added as an appendix to the climax on 7-12—71. In the meantime, the spiritual life of the Parishioners also improved. The missionary efforts of Fr. Gue tou wore crowned with success on May 21, 1966, when the family of Lakshmanan, an influential teacher in the Yellagiri Hill, was received into the Church That was not a solitary event. Mr, Lakshmanan example was followed by other individuals and families. As the neophytes were welcomed into the Church the older members of the Parish Community were not forgotten, Besides the regular services and instructions several One-day Recollections and penitential processions and Bible Services were conducted in order to bring about a spiritual renewal in the Parish. The climax of all these spiritual activities was a Minion conducted by Fr. A. J. Francis C. SS. R. In June 1977 the experienced and zealous preacher visited all the families and solved many of their problems. He recoined six marriages and administered twenty-three adult baptisms. In all those apostolic activities as well as in the administration of the Parish. Fr. Guezon was ably assisted by all his Curates, namely Fathers P. P. Louis, Jagaraj Ra yan, Christie Packianatbau, M. C. Anthony, Joha Varicatt, J. Martin, M. M. Anthony and George Mandapathil. Thanks to the relentless activity and prayers of all our Pastors and Curates, the Parisb of Jalarpet has progressed by leaps and bounds in its prayer tife as well as in its apostolic awareness. The laity as a whole and the members of the various Associations in particular are giving their whole-barred co-operation to the full growth of Parish Community Christ, our Redeemer. Heroic a word of special thanks must be expressed for the excellent work of the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Christian Workers Movement and to the Legionaries of Mary. God bless one and all!