Pandian Nagar as a small town connected with Virudhunagar main town is a fast-developing neighbourhood. It was one of the substations along with Mallankinar and Surampatty coming under the administrative care of St. Ignatius of Loyola parish, Virudhunagar. As efforts were made to divide the parish on pastoral reason, it was Fr. James Ananda Raj, MSFS, the parish priest Othaiyal made efforts to get the parish for the MSFS. Through the support of the parish priest of Virudhunagar parish who was the Vicar Forane at that time, Fr. James, MSFS requested the archbishop Most Rev. Marianus Arockiyasamy to entrust the new parish to the MSFS missionaries and the bishop happily agreed. Thus, the archbishop bifurcated Pandian Nagar from Virudhunagar main parish and erected it as a separate parish with Mallankinar and Surampatti as its substations. The new parish was entrusted to the care of MSFS fathers, and Fr. Mani Panthanlani, MSFS, the provincial superior, was very happy to take up the third parish in the archdiocese of Madhurai. The provincial designated Fr. J. Stephen, MSFS to the archbishop who appointed him as the first parish priest of the new parish in 2000. Fr. J. Stephen, MSFS was transferred from Fransalian mission in Kadaiyal where he was serving as the assistant parish priest. In the initial stage, he was staying in a rented house as the new parish did not have a presbytery. Pandian Nagar parish ha at that time 250 catholic families of whom 25% are government employees. The rest of them work in the factories or get employed in other jobs. Ever since the arrival of the MSFS, the parish has been steadily growing as the fathers showed serious commitment in catering to the pastoral and educational needs of the parish and the local people.
Developments undertaken at various times
Fr. J. Stephen, MSFS, as the pioneer, took various initiatives to prepare the groundwork for developing the new parish. He sold the land where the old church was built, and he bought a piece of land on the side of the main road. As the new parish did not have a good church, he raised the funds needed through the support of the people, the diocese and the province and thus he constructed a beautiful new church which was consecrated by Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter Fernando, the Archbishop of Madurai and inaugurated by Rev. Fr. Thomas Perumalil, MSFS the Provincial on 03 March 2003. The participation of the parishioners in constructing the new church consisted of physical labor and financial assistance. Fr. J. Stephen also mobilized funds and constructed a new church in Mallanginar with the help of the local people and the province. In the process, he purchased a piece of land with the help of the province near the new church and constructed the presbytery there. He also was instrumental in purchasing 5 acres of land for the province under the direction of Fr. Mani Panthalani, MSFS the provincial with the purpose of starting a school. He started the SFS school first in the church premises and then it was later shifted to the present campus near Villipathri, which is just 2 km away from Pandian Nagar town.
Fr. V. Vedharaj, MSFS was appointed as the second parish priest succeeding Fr. J. Stephen, MSFS. He served the parish with greater enthusiasm and commitment, catering to the spiritual and pastoral needs of the parishioners. As the parish church was in the town near the main road and campus was open to the public, the safety of the church was an issue. Therefore, as the parish priest, he mad efforts and organized the people to make contributions and built the compound wall around the church, creating a safe atmosphere in the campus. He also mobilized the funds needed and painted the parish church.
Fr. I. S Jesuraj, MSFS succeeded Fr. C. Sebastian Robert, MSFS as the parish priest. Realizing the need to devotion to our Blessed Mother, he mobilized the funds needed with the help of the people and built a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, which was blessed by Fr. A. Dharmaraj, MSFS the Provincial on 08 September 2012. He also laid the foundation for the construction of a bell tower in the parish. He mobilized funds with the support of the people and painted the parish church in honour of the centennial celebration.
Fr. K. Rajasekar, MSFS took charge of the parish, succeeding Fr. I. S. Jeusraj, MSFS. He was actively involved in the pastoral initiatives of the parish with dedication, and at the same time he helped in the school. He continued the efforts of his predecessor and completed the bell tower work started by Fr. I. S. Jesuraj, MSFS. He made efforts with the support of the people and beautified the parish church campus with paver blocks in front of the church till the gate. As the church in Surampatti village was very small and in a bad condition, he initiated raising funds and built a new church dedicated to our Blessed Mother Mary. He also organized the people to raise funds and built a Grotto in honor of our lady of Vailankanni and renovated the altar and the flooring in the church at in Mallanginar village. While pastorally taking care of the parish, he also assisted in the SFS Matriculation Higher Secondary School by teaching Social Science and English at for two years. From here he was transferred with a view of preparing to go to the US for pastoral ministry.
Fr. N. Arockiaselvam, MSFS was appointed as the parish priest, succeeding Fr. K. Rajasekar, MSFS. He also served as the superior of the Fransalian community at Pandian Nagar. He showed greater enthusiasm and commitment in organizing various pastoral activities in the parish. He was deeply pastoral oriented in his approach, availing himself to care for the people. He made many efforts to build up the parish, catering to the spiritual needs of the people. He was always available to reach out to the people. He made efforts to dig a borewell on the church campus. He also took the initiative to renovate the sacristy, changed the electric system in the church, installed the four mysteries of the Rosary with stain glasses in the sanctuary and installed the Mermier statue on the church premises.
Fr. S. Stephen Xavier, MSFS was appointed as the parish priest after Fr. N. Arockiyaselvam, MSFS. He was simple and compassionate parish priest. He systematically organized the parish records and the various events in the parish. He initiated mobilizing the funds needed and painted the church and the bell tower with the support of the parishioners. He was transferred from here to take up the parish at Nallatinputhur as the parish priest.
Fr. A. Lawrance, MSFS succeeded Fr. S. Stephen Xavier, smfs as the parish priest and he was appointed as the superior of the Fransalian community after Fr. A. Arockiyam, MSFS who served as the superior of the community for two years. He made efforts to renovate the presbytery and laid out new titles for the house floor with the support of the province. As the parish priest, he furnished the church with new kneelers for the people’s use, installed a new tabernacle in the sanctuary, and built a new flagpole with the support of the parishioners. Fr. J. Stephen, MSFS, the General Councillor for Social Innovative Ministry blessed the flagpole in December 2023. As the school building at Soorampatti was in a very dilapidated condition, he mobilized the funds needed with the help from MSFS MDO and support from the province and built a new school building, which was inaugurated and blessed by Fr. A. Patrick Jayaraj, MSFS the provincial on November 22, 2024.
Participatory Structures in the Parish: Parish Council, Anbiyams
Pious Associations: Legion of Mary,
St. Xavier youth association,
Lourdu Matha Association
Institutions under the Parish: SFS Matriculation School managed by the MSFS Fathers; R. C. Primary school at Surampatti is managed by the archdiocese of Madurai.
Succession of the Parish Priests
Fr. J. Stephen MSFS 2000 – 2007
Fr. V. Vedharaj MSFS 2007 – 2009
Fr. C. Sebastian Robert MSFS 2009 – 2010
Fr. I. S Jesuraj MSFS 2010 – 2013
Fr. K. Rajasekar MSFS 2013 – 2015
Fr. N. Arockia Selvam MSFS 2015 – 2018
Fr. A. Michael MSFS 2018 – 2019
Fr. A. Maria Selvan MSFS 2019 – 2020
Fr. S. Stephen Xavier MSFS 2020 – 2023
Fr. A. Lawrance MSFS 2023 –