BHUIGAON

 

Church of Holy Family (Bhuigaon) 1946 (ref: Catholic Diocese of Vasai)

Located 2 km. Southwest of the village of Nirmal, this was the second village after Gass, to be separated for the parent parish, holy cross, Nirmal.

The distance and the difficult terrain made it difficult for the Catholics of Buigaon to attend services at Holy Cross Church. Out of the thousand Catholics of the village only a handful attended services at Nirmal. It was imperative therefore that the situations be addressed.

It made the formation of a parish all the more important and inevitable. The sheer vastness of the parishes also o made it difficult for the religious to cater to the need of all the parishioners. Fr. (later Mnsgr.) Raymond Mendez, the assistant priest at Nirmal, began catechism classes for the children of the village. This move, though a start, did not adequately address the larger needs / issues of the Catholic village folk.

A simple church was built in 1946 through donation of land by the poor villagers and monetary assistance from the Archbishop of Bombay and the parishes of Bandra. On June 2nd of the same year, Bhuigaon became a parish independent of the parish of Nirmal.

Fr. Acuico Dourado, the first parish priest resided in the village. Two years later, in 1948, the villagers volunteered their physical assistance for the new construction that was in progress.

The simple single storied structure took seven long years to complete. The ground floor is where the religious services are conducted and the first floor is the parish residence.

Father Nazareth Garbu completed the existing church in 1984.

 

Bhuigaon, P.O. & Tal Vasai, Dist. Thane 401 201

Tel: 0250 – 2470054

 

 

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