One of the most famous churches of Mangalore is the Bejai Church. The original name of this church is St. Francis Xavier Church. This Roman Catholic Church was built during 1869 in an area of 5.37 acres in the Bejai locality. Land was the same was given by the British Government during 2nd November 1869. Initially only a chapel was constructed, in which special prayers were conducted on Sundays.

History

The Cathedral parish community had been living in the Bejai locality for over two hundred years. The thought for constructing a Roman Catholic Church in this area was conceptualized for the benefit of residents of Bejai who had to travel a long way to offer their prayers. After the construction of the church in Bejai, priests began offering their Sunday masses from here.

During 22nd March 1912, Bishop Paul Perini appointed Father Sebastian Noronha as the resident chaplain of the Bejai Church. Father Sebastian initiated a lot of good efforts like setting up the St. Francis Xavier School for Boys and Lourdes School for Girls during 1915. Father Joseph Peter Fernandez took over from Father Sebastian. Fr. Fernandez constructed a part of the presbytery during 1920. The church that is visible now was built due to the efforts of Father AEC Colaco during 1928. He was primarily responsible for finalizing the presbytery construction, finishing the school buildings and setting up plans for the belfry. The belfry plan was implemented by Father Leo Saldana during 1937. A new school for girls, up till tenth grade, was constructed by the joint efforts of the Ursuline Franciscan sisters and Reverend Manager FJM Pinto. Maintenance and developmental activities came to a grinding halt after 1963.

1995–2003

During 1995, Father Bernard L D’Souza was appointed as the parish priest. He initiated many noteworthy efforts like levelling of the western side of the cemetery, shifting of permanent graves to elevated levels and setting up a raised community hall over an area of 32 cents with a parking area of around 52 cents. It took one year to construct this hall and during December 1997, it was formally inaugurated. Currently, this hall can accommodate up to 1000 people, has a stage, 100 seated gallery, mini hall at the basement with great audio facilities and seating capacity of 200 people and a spacious verandah. The construction costs came up to a whopping 7.5 million INR.

2003 Onwards

Father Bernard was also instrumental in setting up the Commercial Complex of Bejai Church during 1998. Currently, this is one of the most economically active areas in Bejai. During May 2003, he was succeeded by Father Joseph Peter Tauro, who took over as the parish priest of the church and as the manager of Lourdes School for Girls. Within a short span of him taking over, the school won the approval of the Central Government to carry on with its CBSE board curriculum. During 2011, the hundredth year celebrations of Bejai Church were carried out with great pomp and splendor. The church is currently beneficial to around 1250 families and 6000 Roman Catholics living in Bejai.

Mass Timings

Sunday Mass

Mass is offered at 5.30 PM on Saturdays. On Sundays, it is offered at 5.30 AM, 7 AM, 8.15 AM, 9.15 AM and 4.30 PM. The daily mass can be offered at any time between 6.30AM and 5.30 PM on all days of the week except Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, the daily mass can be offered at 5.30 PM.

Contact Details

St. Francis Xavier Church
Bejai Post, Mangalore -575004

Estd. : 1912