Our Lady of Fathima Church, Kodungal comes under the Taluk of Thirukovilur in Vizhupuram District. This parish was the substation of Mugaiyur parish for a long time. There are around 30000 people living in Kodungal, and the Catholics number around 2759, constituting 460 Catholic families. At the guidance of the parish priest from Mugaiyur, the parishioners started to construct a new parish church as the existing church was old and in a very bad condition. The new church was blessed on 6th December 1994 by Most Rev. Dr. Michael Augustine, the archbishop of Pondicherry – Cudalore, prior to the arrival of the MSFS fathers. In this small village, quite many of the parishioners employed in government jobs, and there are a considerable number of people serving in the Indian Army too. The people are very talented with vision and purpose in life. They are very advanced in learning about the new technologies.
When Most Rev. Dr. Michael Augustin, the archbishop of Pondicherry – Cudalore decided to bifurcate it from Mugaiyur parish at the recommendation of the parish priest, he invited the MSFS missionaries to take up the new parish. Hence, this parish was erected as a separate parish and the bishop entrust the new parish to the MSFS missionaries. Fr. Mani Panthalani, MSFS the provincial responded to the bishop’s invitation and designated Fr. C. John Britto, MSFS. He took charge as the first parish priest on 27 July 2000. The following villages are attached to Kodungal parish as Substations: Veerachozhapuram, Paranur, Melakondur, Kilakondur, Puttur, and Kadaganur. The confreres here are involved in faith formation, animation of the Basic Christian Communities, different Associations, House visits, conducting special prayer services on important occasions, organizing evening Tuitions and Youth movement.
Developments undertaken by the Parish Priests
Fr. C. John Britto, MSFS was the pioneer of this mission. As there was no presbytery in the new parish, a temporary arrangement was made in the old school that was there, and he stayed there for two years. He had taken lots of initiative to organize the parish activities and stabilized the new parish. He maintained the parish sacramental records for baptism, confirmation, and marriage. He organized parish registers and archives for the future reference about the nature of the parish. He promoted grassroots evangelization and people’s participation in the parish activities by establishing 10 Basic Christian Communities each of which are named in honor of a saint and conducting weekly meetings and prayer services in each BCC. He formed pastoral council with the BCC leaders, started Sunday catechism classes for children and the youth according to different age groups, and conducted adult faith formation sessions periodically. He promoted Marian devotion to Our Lady of Fatima by celebrating mass on the 13th of every month, inviting guest priests to celebrate the Eucharist, and each celebration included cultural events, and people’s active participation. He conducted Bible month annually, organizing events like Bible quiz, speech competitions, drawing contests, and scriptural dramatizations. The twin towers of the church were incomplete and so he made efforts and successfully completed both towers in the church, and the old school building was renovated and converted as the parish rectory with the help from the province and sponsors.
Fr. F. Emmanuel, MSFS succeeded Fr. John Britto, MSFS as the parish priest, and as there was no presbytery in the parish, he took the initiative to mobilize funds needed to build a presbytery. Through the help from the province and the diocese, he built the new parish house, and it was blessed by Most Rev. Dr. S. Michael Augustine, the archbishop of Pondicherry and opened by Rev. Fr. Mani Panthalani, MSFS the provincial on 02nd February 2003.
Fr. D. Robert, MSFS was appointed as the parish priest to succeed Fr. F. Emmanuel, MSFS and he took various initiatives to develop the parish with dedication and enthusiasm. As there was no church at one of the substations, namely Puthur, he organized the people to mobilize the needed funds and initiated building a new church in this substation. Fr. A. Santhiyagu, MSFS provided a partial help through one of his parishioners at St. Mary Church in Flint, Michigan, US. As the church construction work was in progress, he was transferred to Kolli Hills.
Fr. S. Anthoy, MSFS succeeded Fr. D. Robert, MSFS as the parish priest and he also was actively involved in serving the people with greater dedication and pastoral spirit. He continued to mobilize funds and completed the new church at Puthur with the help from the province and the diocese and Fr. A. Santhiyagu, MSFS continued to provide partial help for completing the church work. He also erected the flagpole for the church in this substation. During his time, he initiated raising funds and completed the construction of the compound wall at the school in Kodungal with the help from the MP fund (Member of Parliament) from Vizhupuram constituency. He built a shed for the safety of the chariot and paved stones in front of the stage in the church campus with the support of the people and the province.
Fr. S. Vanathaiyan, MSFS took charge as the parish priest, succeeding Fr. S. Anthony, MSFS. He organized and animated the people with selfless commitment, training them to be involved in developing the parish. As the parish church was quite old, he took the initiative and worked hard to renovate the church with false ceiling and beautified the sanctuary with the help of the people, and support from the diocese and the province. He was instrumental in bringing the Sisters of Charity to establish their community in Kodungal parish. The diocese has given them one teaching post in the school. The parishioners appreciated his service with a deep sense of gratitude.
Fr. M. Sagayaraj, MSFS was appointed as the parish priest, succeeding Fr. S. Vanathaiyan, MSFS. He rendered selfless service in taking care of the pastoral and spiritual needs of the people. Understanding the needs of the parish, he organized the people to raise the funds and erected a flagpole in the Church premises in 2019, and the SE province supported the parish for this project with substantial help. He served the parish for three years.
Fr. P. Felix, MSFS took charge as the parish priest succeeding Fr. M. Sagayaraj, MSFS. He was actively committed to exercising his pastoral activities of animating the people and making the parish to be a vibrant faith community. Realizing the need for creating a safe atmosphere at St. Antony’s grotto, he initiated organizing the people and built a compound wall and an alter at the grotto for the liturgical celebrations. With the support of the parishioners, he built a cemented concrete floor in front of the Stations of the Cross and planted 100 redwood trees around the parish church. As the church campus is open to the public, Fr. Felix, MSFS took the initiative to install CCTV Cameras in the church campus as security measures. As the church in the substation named Melakondur was in a dangerous condition, he made efforts to organize the people and raised funds to renovate the church. He also wrote a project to the Propagation of Fiede through the diocese. The project was approved, and he successfully renovated the substation such and it was blessed in 2022. As the hall in the R C Middle School that belongs to the parish was in a dilapidated condition, he renovated the hall in the school with the help of an NGO and now the hall is for conducting exams, offering classes and having midday meal for the children. The school headmaster Mr John Britto generously made efforts to mobilize funds and contributed for the purchase of ceiling fans, lights in all the classrooms, computers for the office and teachers’ use, and very good steel burro for the office purpose. The Old Students from the 1995 class from Kodungal School had generously contributed 10 Computers and CCTV Cameras for the use of school which were installed in the month of December 2024. Similarly, the students from the 1996 class had sponsored Sports Kits and equipment to encourage and motivate the schoolchildren. Moreover, the school staff along with the correspondent had taken enough effort to mobilize funds from various sources and built toilets and water tank for the use of schoolchildren. As it was the Jubilee Year for the parish of Kodungal, Fr. P. Felix, MSFS as the parish priest initiated motivating the people for planning out and organizing the Siver Jubilee celebration of the parish (2000 to 2025). In view of celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the parish, he renovated the church which was more than 31 years old. The Silver Jubilee celebration was officiated by Most Rev. Dr. Francis Kalist, the archbishop of Pondicherry-Cuddalore archdiocese and Fr. A. Patick Jeyaraj, MSFS the provincial along with the good number of priests and religious. It was a joy-filled and graceful celebration.
Participatory Structures: Nattamai (parish elders), Basic Christian Communities
Associations: Youth group, Alter servers, Legion of Mary
Religious working in the Parish: Sisters of Charity
Institution under the Parish: R. C. Middle School at Kodungal under the diocesan
Administration
Succession of Parish Priests:
Fr. C. John Britto MSFS 2000 – 2002
Fr. F. Emmanuel MSFS 2002 – 2003
Fr. D. Robert MSFS 2003 – 2009
Fr. S. Antony MSFS 2009 – 2012
Fr. S. Vanathaiyan MSFS 2012 – 2015
Fr. A. Michael MSFS 2015 – 17.5.2015
Fr. K. Rajasekar MSFS 2015 June – Sept 2016
Fr. Gregory MSFS 2016 Oct – May 2017
Fr. Sagayaraj MSFS 2017 – 2020
Fr. P. Felix MSFS 2020 –
Succession of Assistant Priests / Deacons
Dn. S. Joseph MSFS 2000 – 2001
Dn. S. Stephen Xavier MSFS 2009
Fr. A. Justin Diraviam MSFS 2009 – 2010 (Vizag Province)
Fr. S. Arockia Charles MSFS 2010-2011
Fr. M. Maria Francis Britto MSFS 2011-2012
Fr. A. Charles Michael MSFS 2012 – 2013
Dn. A. Chinnasamy Yesuraj MSFS 2015 – 2016
Dn. S. Arockiyam MSFS 2016 – 2017
Fr P. S. Joseph MSFS 2019 – 2021
Fr A Dass MSFS 2022 – 2024
Fr. V. Yesuraja, MSFS 2024 – 2025