Infant Jesus parish at Othaiyal is situated in the Sattur Taluk of Virudhunagar district. The parish is surrounded by the parish of Sattur in the East, Kovilpatti in the South, Sivakasi in the West and R.R Nagar in the North. The presence of the Catholics is more than 60 years old in this area. It began with the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries in the archdiocese of Madurai, particularly around Sattur. Thus, Othaiyal was originally one of the sub-stations of Sattur parish. Later Othaiyal was bifurcated from Sattur parish and was entrusted to the congregation of the missionaries of St. Francis de sales in the year 1999. The parish church is dedicated to Infant Jesus, and it consists of 300 families spread over 12 substations. These are poor villages, and the people depend very much on their employment in the firework factories and matchbox factories. Since the job in the factories is the only source of income for running their families, the people work very hard and long hours till late evening. The presence of MSFS began in the year 1999. As the MSFS missionaries had already taken up a parish in Kodai Road Ammapatti, they showed interest in taking up another parish in the Archdiocese of Madurai. Therefore, it was Fr. Edwin Sagayaraj who was then the parish priest of Sattur parish took the initiative to divide the parish as it was a large parish with quite many substations under his care. Hence, he proposed to the archbishop to divide Othaiyal and all its surrounding villages from Sattur main parish and create a new parish.
The archbishop Most Rev. Dr. Marianus Arockiyasamy bifurcated Othaiyal and all the Catholice villages till Ezhayirampannai after the national highway between Madurai and Kanniyakumari and erected a new parish. He decided to invite the MSFS missionaries through Fr. A. Santhiyagu, MSFS to take up the new mission, and his provincial superior Fr. Mani Panthalani, MSFS responded to the invitation of the archbishop by designating Fr. James Anand Raj, MSFS to the archbishop, who appointed him as the first parish priest. He took charge of the parish in the month of June 1999. And the ceremony of inaugurating the new parish and the installation ceremony of the new parish priest first took place in Ezhayirampanni as it was a small town. But then, Othaiyal was chosen to be the main parish as there are more Catholic families, and Ezhayirampannai remains till today as one of the substations. When Othaiyal was created as a parish, there was no presbytery for the priest to stay. Therefore, a temporary arrangement was made in a rented hall which was used as a godown for keeping matchboxes. Fr. James, MSFS first stayed there and continued his ministry. The SMMI sisters (Salesiam Missionaries of Mary Immaculate) later joined the MSFS fathers to serve the mission. The sisters also initially used part of the same hall that Fr. James, MSFS was using. They served the parish with dedication and profound pastoral spirit. Fr. James, MSFS ministered at Fransalian mission in Othaiyal till 2002 and he was transferred from there in view of being sent to Germany for pastoral ministry. Fr. James, along with the SMMI sisters took a lot of initiatives to organize people under one parish family and reached out to the people for administering sacraments whenever needed. Later MSFS fathers built a grotto dedicated to our lady of Fatima in 2017. Thus, the MSFS missionaries made remarkable contributions through their dedication and hard work in building up people’s faith life and in the economic and social development of the parish brought significant changes in people’s life.
Developments undertaken at various times
Othaiyal: Fr. I. James, MSFS was the pioneer of this mission, taking up the parish immediately after his ordination. As there was no presbytery in the new parish, he made efforts to raise the funds needed and constructed the presbytery with the help of the province and the new house inaugurated by Fr. Mani Pathalani, MSFS the provincial of Visakhapatnam province and blessed by most Rev. Dr. Anthony Pappusamy then Anxiliary Bishop of Madurai on July 4.2001. He also initiated purchasing 8 acres of land in Othaiyal with the support from the province and it was registered in the name of the Fransalian Society. There was a small church in the new parish, and it was very congested. Therefore, he organized the people and constructed the parish church with the help of the parishioners, supported by the archdiocese and the province. The new church was blessed by Rev. Dr. Anthony Pappusamy then Anxiliary Bishop of Madurai and inaugurated by Fr. Mani Panthalany, MSFS the provincial on February 2, 2002. He also built a stage in honor of Fr. Peter Mermier, MSFS near the present school for the parish use of conducting public functions.
Fr. Joseph Xavier, MSFS who made efforts to shift the R.C. primary school to the church campus and built a new school building with the help of the province and contribution from Fr. James, MSFS from Germany. The new school was inaugurated by Fr. A. Lawrence, MSFS, the provincial and blessed by Most Rev. Dr. Peter Fernandez, the archbishop of Madurai in the year 2009.
Fr. S. Stephen Xavier, MSFS was the parish priest, he made efforts to get the water line from the panchayat to the school, and he also fixed submergible motor in the borewell for the house with the support from Fr. A. Arockiyam, MSFS who was the co-pastor in the parish.
Fr. Sagaya Antony Tharcius, MSFS was the parish, he organized the people and built a grotto dedicated to our Lady of Fatima at Othaiyal parish in honor of the centenary celebration of Her apparition. The grotto was blessed by Fr. K. Ignacimuthu, MSFS the provincial in the month of April 2017. He also introduced and popularized the devotion to Infant Jesus with novenas and mass on the first Thursday of every month, providing meal for the participants. He also beautified the belltower of the parish church by installing statues of saints. As there was no compound wall to protect the presbytery campus, he made efforts and constructed the compound wall around the presbytery and Fr. A. Arockiyam, MSFS supported this project. He introduced and fostered the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament among the people by having Eucharistic adoration in all the substations before the mass.
Ezhayirampannai is one of the sub-stations and it is a mini- town surrounded by many villages. There was already a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health which was built in 1988 by Fr. N.P. Alphonse, a diocesan clergy. There is also a R.C. primary school which was built by Fr. Santhiyagu SJ in 1971. When Fr. James, MSFS was the parish priest, he made efforts to raise funds and built a small grotto in honor of Our Lady of Good Health in front of the church, and it was blessed in 2000.
Solapatti is another substation and there are 15 Catholic families in this village. Fr. S. Stephen Xavier, MSFS took the initiative as the parish priest and purchased a piece of land with help of people. He mobilized the funds needed with people’s support and some help from the province and built a church dedicated to St. Francis Xavier. The new church was blessed by Most Rev. Anthony Pappusamy, the archbishop of Madurai in 2012. Madathupatti is another substation, situated southwest of Elayirampannai town where St. Joseph’s church was built by Rev. Fr. Mattam SJ in 1978. There is a shop in the church compound which is managed by the village elders.
Vallampatty is one of the substations of Othaiyal parish. There was an old church built by Rev. Fr. Mattam SJ in Naidu colony many years ago. Due to pastoral inconvenience, the people made efforts to sell it and bought a piece of land in a different place. When Fr. M. Nicholas, MSFS was the parish priest, he took the initiative with the support of the people to mobilize the funds needed and built a new church dedicated to Christ the King. The church was blessed by Rev. Dr. Anthony Pappusamy, the then Auxiliary Bishop of Madurai and inaugurated by Fr. A. Lawrence, MSFS the Regional Superior of Chennai Region in the year 2006.
Pullagaundenpatty is another substation under Othaiyal parish. There was the church here dedicated to St. Antony of Padua which was built by a foreign missionary long time back. As the church was old and in bad condition, Fr. Mattam SJ made efforts and renovatee it. While Fr. Stephen Xavier, MSFS was the parish priest, he took the initiative with the help of the people and bought one and half acres of land in the name of the village to construct a new church outside of the village. However, the land is not entrusted to the diocese, and the people’s effort to renovate the old church was still in the process.
Soorangudi is one of the substations of Othaiyal parish and there are five Catholic families in this small village. There is the village elder’s system who organize and manages the village community and its concerns. There is a church dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola. Fr. Ferdinand Sagaya Selvan, MSFS who succeeded Fr. K. Joseph Xavier, MSFS as the parish priest, took the initiative to raise funds and renovated the church in 2009. Later, when Fr. D. Tharcius, MSFS was the parish priest, succeeding Fr. S. Stephen Xavier, MSFS renovated the church with the support of the people and the province in 2015.
Acchankulam is another substation under Othaiyal parish. There is a church here dedicated to Sacred Heart of Jesus which was built by Fr. Mattam SJ in 1987. There is also R.C. primary school which was started by the Jesuit missionaries in 1926. When Fr. I. James, MSFS as the parish priest, made efforts to raise funds and renovated the church in 2000 as it was in a dilapidated condition. There were many Catholic families in this village in the beginning but in the course of time, people slowly joined other Christian denominations.
Markanathapuram is one of the substations and it is an interior village situated at the East side of Pullagoundenpatty. The total number of families in this village are 300 but there are only 30 Catholic families, and the people are very cooperative and actively participate in the church activities. After the establishment of Othaiyal parish, Fr. I. James, MSFS organized the people and bought a piece of land in this village and then constructed a small church here dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health. The new church was blessed by Rev. Dr. Anthony Pappusamy then Anxiliary Bishop of Madurai in 2001. The people themselves initiated constructing a grotto which is incomplete as it is built in the land which belongs to the panchayat board.
Srirangapuram is another substation belonging to Othaiyal parish. It is an interior village, and the Jesuit missionaries had built a small church here dedicated to St. Michael church. There were around 15 families who are economically poor. Now there may be a few families coming to church.
Melapudur is one of the larger substations and one of the oldest substations situated 5 km away from Othaiyal parish. In the beginning, there was a small church at Lakshmiyapuram. Then Mr. Manickam donated the present land for the purpose of building a church and Fr. Santhiyagu, SJ built a new church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The people of the village took the initiative and built a grotto in honor of Blessed Mother Mary and later they entrusted it to Fr. Stephen Xavier, MSFS the parish priest to manage it. As the old church in this substation became dilapidated, Fr. D. Tharcius, MSFS made efforts to collect the funds needed and built a new church with the support of the people and help from the province and the diocese. The new church was blessed by Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Pappusamy, the archbishop of Madurai and inaugurated by Fr. K. Ignacimuthu, MSFS the provincial on November 16, 2018.
Anbil Nagar is another substation and one of the largest substations in Othaiyal parish. As the old church in this village was in an unsafe condition, Fr. Jeyaraj, MSFS as the parish priest took the initiative in organizing the people and raise the funds and constructed a new church with support of the people, the diocese and the province. The new church was blessed by Most Rev. Anthony Pappusamy, the archbishop of Madurai and inaugurated by Fr. A. Dharmaraj, MSFS the provincial.
Participatory Structures in the Parish: Parish Council, Anbiyams
Associations in the Parish: Legion of Mary and youth group Religious in the Parish: Sisters of the Salesian Missionary of
Mary Immaculate – SMMI
Succession of Parish Priests
Fr. James Ananda Raj MSFS 1999 – 2002
Fr. M. Sahaya Raj MSFS 2002 – 2004
Fr. M. Nicholas MSFS 2004 – 2007
Fr. K. Joseph Xavier MSFS 2007 – 2009
Fr. Ferdiand Sahaya Selvan MSFS 2009 – 2010
Fr. S. Stephen Xavier MSFS 2010 – 2013
Fr. D. Sahaya Antony Tharcius MSFS 2013 – 2019
Fr. Francis DevadossMSFS 2019 – 2020
Fr. Jeyaraj MSFS 2020 – 2023
Fr. John Milton MSFS 2023 – 2025
Fr. Vanathaiyan MSFS 2025
Succession of Assistant Parish Priests / Deacons
Dn. S. Antony MSFS 2000 – 2001
Dn. S. Belavendiran 2001 – 2002
Fr. S. Stephen Xavier MSFS 2009 – 2010
Dn. G. David MSFS 2010 – 2011
Fr. Sahaya Jerald Abin MSFS 2010 – 2011
Fr. L. Sagaya Bhasker MSFS 2011 – 2012
Fr. A. Arockiyam MSFS 2012 – 2013 co-pastor
Dn. S. Ashir Johnson 2016 – 2017
Fr. Antony Raj MSFS 2017 – 2018
Fr. D. Britto MSFS 2018 – 2019 Fr. S. Anantha Prabu MSFS 2024 – 2025