St Vincent De Paul Church Khar West

Way back in 1583, Chuim was one of the twenty five Catholic villages of Bandra. The spiritual needs of the people of this village were looked after by St. Anne’s Church, Bandra. St. Anne’s Church cum residence was on the site of the present BEST Depot, Bandra. It was built between 577 and 1583 which served as a Church. In 1616 the parish of St. Anne was bifurcated and the parish of St. Andrew’s came into existence.

In 1739, during the Maratha invasion, the Church of St. Anne’s was destroyed and St. Andrew’s Church was damaged. The European and Portuguese clergy were forced to leave. St. Andrew’s Church remained desolate with no priest. No religious services were held till 1749 when the secular priests took over. St. Andrew’s was the only parish Church left in Bandra. The Church had jurisdiction over whole of Bandra, the village of Chuim came under St. Andrew’s jurisdiction, which looked after the Catholic population who lived there.

In 1858 a chapel was built at Pali Hill, Bandra and dedicated to St. Anne’s. The people of Chuim found it more convenient to attend religious services at Pali Hill. The Village of Chuim remained in the jurisdiction of St. Andrew’s Church for more than three hundred years. Chuim situated at 19.07 Longitude and 72.83 Latitude, was known as ‘Sleepy Hollow’. Located on the knoll besides the Arabian sea, the village reminded one of the Mediterranean seaside villages especially to the Portuguese. The place was surrounded on the north by the village of Danda consisting of fisherman and the Bhandari toddy tappers. On the east and south by thick forests and fields inhabited by large troop of monkeys especially on the road to Pali, which till the late 1950s was known as the Palli Danda Monkey road, due to its long winding road. Between the hill and the sea was a vast expanse called Danda Green which has an expansive 9 hole Golf Course where members played a double round to make it an 18 hole Golf Course. The people inhabiting Chuim village were farmers and cultivators.

The decree dated January 9, 1943 issued by Archbishop Roberts S.J., raised Chuim to the status of an independent Parish. On January 9, 1943 Fr. M.M. Balaguer SJ, Vicar-General of Bombay, blessed the lower floor of St. Elias Primary School (previously known as Mount Mary’s School) as a place of worship for the new parish which was dedicated to St. Vincent de Paul. The first Parish Priest of St. Vincent de Paul was Fr. A. Remedios. He and five succeeding Vicars from 1943 to 1963 were accommodated in the home of ‘Aunty’ Leticia Fernandes located very close to the School, and they ministered to the parish from there. It was in 1963, on the plot of land, which the Archdiocese had purchased some years before, close to the village of Chuim, that a new school building was built during the Vicarship of Fr. Blaise Nazareth. The new premises was now used also as a residence for priests and a place of worship. The Mass was celebrated on Sundays in the school hall.

In 1969 a small church was build at the side of the school and was used for daily mass. The old premises which housed the School and Church in the Chuim Village was handed over to the Daughters of the Heart of Mary in 1971 to be developed into a Community Centre now known as Nirmala Niwas. In 1976, Fr, Stephen Nazareth planned and built a new and spacious Church. The foundation stone of this new Church was laid by Bishop Longinus Pereira on 3rd October 1976. On 22nd October 1978, the foundation was dug and blessed by Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues and the work began. The new Church building was completed and blessed on 11th October 1981 by Archbishop Simon Pimenta.

A small community which was formed, four hundred years ago, restricted to the small village of Chuim has now spread from the Arabian Sea to the 17th Road, Khar. It includes Danda, Dandpada, Hanuman Nagar, Pyari and Gulab Nagar, Carter Road, Ambedkar Road, New Mala, New Sherly, 20th Road, and beyond. The small population of Catholics has now grown to more than five and a half thousand. The parish has its own school St. Elias High School, with more than two thousand students on its rolls. The Church has various organizations and cells. It has a strong society of St. Vincent de Paul (S.V.P.) which looks after the needs of the sick, the housebound and the needy. The small Christian Communities are working to bring families in various parts of our parish to form small caring and sharing communities.

This parish though small, has given a number of young men and women to work in the vineyard of the Lord. They are serving as priests and nuns in various parts of Mumbai, India and abroad. This parish has also given to the world, men and women, outstanding in sports and music. The small seed which was planted years ago has bloomed now and is bearing fruits.