St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Ambadi Road, Vasai:
Consecrating A
New Church
Easter Sunday, 16th April 2006, was a red-letter day for
the parishioners of St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Ambadi Road,
when Bishop Thomas Dabre blessed and consecrated their new
church dedicated to the Founder of the Society of Jesus, St.
Ignatius Loyola at a very emotional, deeply religious and
meaningful ceremony.
It marked the culmination of a long and arduous struggle
lasting well over 18 years to build a church to serve the
spiritual as well as cultural needs of the 4000 strong English
speaking parishioners of Ambadi Road, Vasai (W), a vast
majority of whom has settled down here from various parts of
Bombay and elsewhere. And what a wonderful coincidence that
this should take place in the year when the Society of Jesus
and Jesuits the world over celebrate the 450th Anniversary of
the death of St. Ignatius Loyola (31st July 1556) and the
fifth centenary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier (7th April
1506) and of Blessed Peter Faber (13th August 1506).
“The Loyola Community Centre” was formed in 1988 It was in the year 1988 when a group of dedicated persons
began the search for a suitable plot of land on which to build
a church. They formed “The Loyola Community Centre” and
approached Fr. Joe Pithekar sJ, the then Parish Priest of St.
Michael’s Church, Manickpur, Vasai (W), from which the new
parish of St. Ignatius Loyola would be carved out in 1998, for
help. The Ambadi Cross, off Ambadi Roa, was erected in 1991
and our people began attending Mass on the roadside braving
sun, rain, heat and cold and the incessant noise of passing
tankers, rickshaws, cars and scooters. What a wonderful sight
it was to see our people holding up umbrellas and attending
Mass during the monsoons! His Lordship Bishop Thomas Dabre
himself celebrated Mass at the Cross and marveled at the
tremendous enthusiasm and piety of our people.
When St. Anne’s Convent started nearby, it was their
sisters who made things a lot more comfortable by graciously
allowing us the use of their premises for Sunday evening
Masses and other important feast days. Thereafter, a morning
Mass was held on Sundays in the compound of the old St.
Francis school and later on, morning and evening Masses on
Sundays and feast days in the new St. Francis School thanks to
Mr. And Mrs. Augustine Pinto. St. Ignatius Loyola thus holds
the dubious distinction of being perhaps the only parish in
the world without a church of its own!
At last a plot of Land was purchased in 2001 It was only 13 years later that God finally heard the
prayers of our people and a plot of land was purchased. On New
Year’s Day 2001, our parishioners gathered for the blessing of
this land. The then Parish priest, Fr. Simon Fernandes SJ,
while giving thanks to the Lord, invoked His Blessings, Fr.
Tony Jurschik SJ who had earlier initiated the first moves
towards finding a suitable plot during his tenure as parish
priest, blessed the land and the leveling work began soon
thereafter. All our parishioners, in whatever way possible,
whether in cash or kind, and our numerous benefactors from far
and near have helped and encouraged us in realizing our dream
of building a truly fitting place of worship to the Lord. The
foundation stone of our church was blessed by Bishop Thomas
Dabre on 1st January 2003 and after three long and sometimes
painful years, the church now stands complete.
The Church Building is unique The church itself is unique, situated as it is on the
first floor. This must be one of the very few churches
anywhere, if not the only one of its kind, with a high row of
steps leading up to it. Over the main entrance is the parish
emblem with a huge stainless steel cross at the top. The
church itself is hexagonal in shape. A huge wooden cross
bearing a larger than life image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
forms the backdrop on the wall just above the tabernacle. The
altar is a simple long table of marble to the left of which is
the baptismal font and to the right the lectern both of
marble. The benches in the church can accommodate a further
500 people. Pillars around the sides of the church support a
balcony which can accommodate a further 250 people and the
choir. These pillars have the Stations of the Cross on them in
marble and figures in fiber glass. The roof has a spider
web-like structure of polycarbonate at the center which allows
the sunlight in during the day and zincallium sheeting on the
outer half. Two doors on either side of the altar lead to the
sacristy behind. On either side of the altar are two
large-sized pictures of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis
Xavier. To enable the elderly to get to the church, a lift has
been provided which will also be of great help to those
wishing to visit the parish house. The under croft on the
ground floor has huge pillars supporting the church above and
can be used for cultural and other functions. To the left of
the main entrance to the church is the grotto of Our Lady. The
compound walls are dotted with palm trees, bougainvilleas and
X’Mas trees, all in full bloom. The church itself is painted a
golden yellow and brick red representing the 4000 golden
hearts of our parishioners and a reminder of the sacrifices of
our parishioners and benefactors who have helped in making
this “Dream Church” a reality.
The Parish Home It is a 3 storied building which can easily be accessed
from the church. The ground floor is open and can be used for
functions. It has pillars which support the floors above. The
first floor has a chapel for intercessory prayer, the parish
office, the parish priest’s office, a conference hall and a
guest room. The second floor has the fathers’ rooms and the
refectory and the third floor has classrooms named after the
saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The parish house is named
after St. Francis Xavier.
The Guiding Force behind the Church It has been the constant support and encouragement of
successive Parish Priests down the years, Fr. Rudy Fernandes,
SJ, Fr. Tony Jurschik SJ, Fr. Cedric Rebello, SJ, Bro. Caston
SJ, Fr. Simon Fernandes SJ, Fr. Augustine Silveira SJ, the
Sisters of St. Anne’s and St. Joseph’s Convent, the Parish
Council and all our dedicated parishioners, who have laboured
with all the zeal and vigour at their command that we have
this imposing edifice today. The biggest applause should go to
our Parish Priest, Fr. Joe D’Abreo SJ., Fr. Bernard D’Souza SJ,
who is now at Infant Jesus Shrine, Nashik, for all their hard
work and enthousiasm to garner support from all possible
quarters, often working till late at night at grave risk to
their health in their advanced age. Fr. Joe himself undertook
so many trips and visits to innumerable churches in Bombay and
to so many of his friends, many of them his ex-students –
which he still does – to beg for donations in cash and kind
for the new church, traveling to and fro in those jam-packed
trains. May God bless him in his old age and reward him with
good health and happiness.
May our patron St.Ignatius Loyola and his friend St.
Francis Xavier shower their choicest blessings upon all our
priests, parishioners, well-wishers and benefactors and all
those who have helped with their support, service and
financial assistance in making this dream come true.
Events
St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Ambadi Road, Vasai:
