Infant Jesus Church, Othaiyal is located in Sattur Taluk of Virudhunagar District. It 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 Priests in the Archdiocese of Madurai and in particular in the area of Sattur. In the beginning, Othaiyal was one of the substations of Sattur Parish. Later Othaiyal was bifurcated from Sattur and was entrusted to the Congregation of the MSFS in 1999.
Fr.I. James Anandaraj was appointed as the first parish priest. 8 acres of Land was purchased in Othaiyal by the Congregation in 2000. It is 500 meters away from the parish church. The presbytery was constructed by Fr.I. James Anandaraj and was blessed by Most Rev.Dr.Antony Pappusamy, the then Auxiliary Bishop of Maduraion 07 April 2001. Later the parochial church was consecrated and inaugurated on 02 February 2002. The parish has 12 substations consisting of 250 families in them. Fr. M. Nicholas constructed a church in Vallampatty substation, which was blessed on 10 July 2005. In 2007 Fr.K. Joseph Xavier built a primary school in the church campus. In 2012, a new church was built in Solapatty, one of the substations by Fr.S. Stephen Xavier.
There are about 25,000 people living in this area. But among them, the catholic population is only around 2100. Majority of the people do not have basic facilities. The people here mainly go for the Match Works and earn around Rs.100/- per day. They don’t have any future plan and savings for life. The men spent money only in consuming alcohol without any pre-thinking. Major part of the Catholics here is in the lowest social stratification. The caste system is more vibrant and powerful. The people do not still live in a good condition.
Vision & Mission Statement
We, the Fransalians at Othaiyal, strive to radiate the good news of love of Jesus Christ to the deprived people of this area. We do give witness to the people by living of an authentic life of Self-discipline. We try to build up fraternal communion among the people irrespective of their differences. We do instill in the minds of the people some of the Christian values through our preaching and way of life. We enlighten them by way of teaching, preaching and education.
| Parish Priests | |
| Name | Year |
| Fr. I. James Anandaraj | 1999-2002 |
| Fr.M. Sahayaraj | 2002-2004 |
| Fr. M. Nicholas | 2004-2007 |
| Fr. K. Joseph Xavier | 2007-2009 |
| Fr.V. Ferdinand Sahaya Selvan | June 2009 – Feb, 2010 |
| Fr.S. Stephen Xavier | 27-Feb-10 |
| Fr.Antony Sagaya Tharcius D | 28-Feb |
Assistant Parish Priests : Fr. S. Jerald Abin, Fr. L. Sahaya Basker