This central area of the Diocese seems to have been left untouched by any serious missionary efforts until the 1930s, perhaps due to the policy of evangelizing the higher castes by the early Jesuits of Madurai and later by the Mysore Mission. However, as early as 1904, a mission to evangelize the Aclidravidas, and later other scheduled castes, was started at Kollapalur by Fr. Tignous. For unknown reasons, this effort did not fructify. Active evangelization began only in 1930 under Fr. Chreviere and was continued by Fr. Audiou, known as the Apostle of the Kollapalur area. Fr. Audiou built a church there in 1935 with mission funds and converted Mariapuram (then known as Merkupathy) in the same year. After the takeover of the diocese by the native clergy, the missionary work continued. At Koneripuram, 20 Vallayar families were converted by Fr. S. M. Rayyapan from Avinashi. Fr. L. Antony Samy also looked after the Christians of Mariapuram and converted some Vallayar families at Kalliapudur. On January 1, 1951, Mariapuram was erected as a new parish, with Fr. M. Irudayam (1951–52), also known as Heart Irudayam, as its first parish priest. Since there was no presbytery, he stayed in a house purchased by the diocese at Kunnathur (later rented out to the Police Station) and ministered to the Christians from there. Earlier, through the efforts of Fr. S. M. Rayyapan (before the separation from Avinashi and Kollapalur), six acres of land had been purchased at Kunnathur for Rs. 3,500 during the time of Bishop Ubagarasamy.
Fr. A. Muthusamy (1952–1954) was the first priest to reside at Mariapuram itself. Since there was no presbytery, the sacristy had to be used as a residence — in fact, this continued until 1976. He tried to convert a few Vallaya families living in the nearby town of Sedapalayam and also started an Elementary School at Mariapuram. Fr. Ignatius M. Irudayam (1954–1956) obtained a piece of land from the government at Konarpuram for a church. Fr. P. Irudayam worked to bring back some families who had become Protestants and also rectified many marriages. The mission in Mariapuram was originally started by the MEP Fathers, who had come to the area in the early 20th century. Through their dedicated evangelization, they formed a fervent and active faith community. As the number of Catholic families increased, the Bishop of Coimbatore recognized the need to guide them with a resident priest. Consequently, in 1951 Mariapuram was erected as a separate parish, and Fr. Irudayam, a diocesan priest, was appointed its first parish priest.
Later, when the MSFS Fathers, Fr. M. John de Britto, MSFS, and Fr. A. Jayakumar, MSFS, approached Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Aquinas, Bishop of Coimbatore, requesting an opportunity to serve in the diocese where the MSFS had no presence, the bishop invited them to take charge of Mariapuram parish. Fr. A. Lawrence, MSFS, the Regional Superior, gladly responded to this invitation by entering into a 15-year contract with the diocese. Thus, Fr. M. John de Britto, MSFS, was appointed the first MSFS parish priest, officially taking charge on 24 June 2009.
Mariapuram parish today consists of three substations: Kunnathur (27 families), Konarpuram (8 families), and Perumanallur (51 families). In Mariapuram itself, there are 140 Catholic families, making a total of about 226 families in the parish. As the first MSFS parish priest, Fr. John de Britto took several initiatives to organize parish life, strengthen faith formation, and develop the parish at all levels. The parishioners have always been very supportive and cooperative with the priests.
The majority of parishioners are daily labourers, many employed in garment factories nearby. At the same time, there are also a significant number of well-educated individuals who serve in government jobs. More than 150 children from the parish attend different schools, and youth groups — numbering over twenty — are very actively engaged in parish activities.
Since being entrusted to the MSFS missionaries, Mariapuram parish has grown remarkably, both structurally and spiritually. The parish is also blessed with the presence of a convent of the Coimbatore Presentation Sisters, who run a dispensary and serve in the parish school, contributing greatly to the faith and welfare of the community.
Developments undertaken at various times
Fr. M. John de Britto, msfs as the pioneer in this mission, took many initiatives to organize the people, introduce different activities and formed various groups for active participation and involvement in the parish. As the parish church was very old, he made efforts to mobilize the funds needed with the support of the people, the diocese and the province and constructed a beautiful new parish church, dedicated to our Lady of Lourdes Church. The new church was blessed by Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Aquinas, the bishop of Coimbatore and inaugurated by Fr. A. Dharmaraj, msfs the provincial on May 23, 2012. Moreover, as there were many Catholic families at Perumanallur but had no church to worship, Fr. John de Britto as the first parish priest made efforts to organize and form those families into a vibrant faith community. He used to gather the people in one of the parishioner’s house and celebrated mass every weekend.
Fr. S. Pilavendren, msfs was appointed to succeed Fr. John de Brotto as the parish priest. He renovated the parish presbytery and organized the parish activities systematically and maintained well all the sacramental and parish records. He trained the youth, the altar servers and the people to prepare and celebrate the liturgy in a meaningful way. He motivated the people and the youth to grow in faith and life values. As there was no church at Kunnathur substation, he took the initiative to mobilize funds with the support of the people and the province and constructed new church dedicated to Our Lady of Velankanni. The was blessed by Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Aquinas, the bishop of Coimbatore and inaugurated by Fr. A. Dharmaraj, msfs, the provincial on April 9, 2016. He also built there a small grotto in honor of our Blessed Mother Mary to foster people’s devotion.
Fr. S. Antony Raj, msfs succeeded Fr. S. Pilavendiran, msfs after his sudden and unexpected death. He took charge of the parish at the time when the people of the parish were mourning over the sudden demise of their parish priest. So, he made all his efforts to guide and motivate the people to overcome the pain of such a sad event. Realizing the need of the parish, he organized the people to make a new chariot for the parish church feast at Mariapuram with the support of the parishioners.
Fr. D. Robert, msfs took charge of the parish succeeding Fr. Antony Raj, msfs as the parish priest and he was actively involved in organizing the pastoral ministries, especially in guiding the parishioners to grow in their faith life by organizing everyday prayer and mass for the people. He made efforts to maintain systematically the family records of the parish, rectifying marriages and developed the practice of regular house visits. He animates the pious associations in the parish and faithfully offers mass for the school children once a month, helping them to grow in their faith. He is available the people and always ready to reach out to them whenever needed. He initiated to create in the parish an “alcohol free atmosphere.” He organized annul retreats and spiritual pilgrimages for the parishioners to various shrines, especially during the Lenten season. Realizing the pastoral needs of the parish at Mariapuram, Fr. Robert, with the support of the people, constructed the compound wall around the church and renovated the entrance gate of the church, erected a flagpole and laid paver block in the church compass. He also had taken efforts to prepare a safe and convenient place at the cemetery for celebrating mass whenever needed, especially on All Souls’ Day, fixed the electrification in the presbytery, school and church, built a shed with tin sheets in front of the church, presbytery and school, and renovated the presbytery partially with new furniture. He made efforts to beautify the church by renovating the church altar and installing new pews for the use of people in the church. He also collaborated with the people at Kunnathur and paved inter-lock stones around the church and erected a flagpole for the church. He worked hard to mobilize the funds needed to construct a new church dedicated to our Lady of Fatima. As Perumanallur village is fast developing and there is no church, Fr. Robert took the initiative to organize and form the people as a faith community. As the first step, he planned with them to mobilize the funds needed and purchased a piece of land for the purpose of constructing a church there.
Participatory Structures in the Parish: Parish Council, Women Self-help Groups and
BCC – 8
Religious in the Parish: Presentation Sisters (Coimbatore Presentation)
Institutions under the Parish: St. Mary’s Primary School, Mariapuram
managed by the diocesan administration
Succession of Parish Priest
Fr. M. John de Britto, msfs 2009 – 2013
Fr. S. Pilavendren, msfs 2013 – 2018
Fr. S. Antony Raj, msfs 2018 – 2022
Fr. D. Robert, msfs 2022
Succession of Assistant Parish Priests / Deacons
Fr. S. Johnson, msfs 2010 – 2011
Fr. S. David Vincent, msfs 2011 – 2012
Dn. L. John Peter, msfs 2016 – 2017
Dn. D. Britto, msfs 2017 – 2018
Fr. A. Motcha Richard, msfs 2019 – 2020
Fr. R. Anbu Stalin, msfs 2023 – 2024