St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Raghabpur:
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Raghabpur is situated in Raghabpur Village, Nepalgunge P. O., District South 24 Parganas, West Bengal (INDIA) PIN – 700 103. The Church is 132 year old with 2193 families and 7500 parishioners as active church participants.
This historic church also symbolises unity among all the religions in the area. During Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions, people of all faith visit this church for prayers.
A brief History
The history of the Jesuit Mission in Raghabpur is an unremitting saga of love and selfless service. Starting in a small village called Kaikhali in 1841, the Mission was built on the blood, sweat and toil of our great Pioneers and Forefathers. They faced incessant hardships, frequent floods, the Mutiny of 1857, the Bengal Famine in the early 1900’s, ever challenging weather conditions, lack of proper roads and transport facilities etc. It was only their love for Christ and undaunted spirit of self-sacrifice to proclaim the gospel in season and out of season that spurred them on to leave a rich legacy for us today to follow. They were towering giants. It is undoubtedly true, their hard labour brought this Raghabpur Jesuit Mission to the greater glory of God, which is now the oldest in the South 24 Parganas District of West Bengal.
From the small village of Kaikhali, situated not more than ten miles from the main Centre, the mission moved steadily towards the neighbouring villages like Chok Rasun, Kauradangi, Debipur, Nurshidachok, until it reached its present destination in 1891. Along with the church St. Paul’s Middle Vernacular School, the first Bengali medium school in the South 24 Parganas District, started in 1877, was an integral part of the mission.
In 1991 the mission celebrated its 150th anniversary and the Church celebrated its Centenary. Raghabpur is now the mother church of five full-fledged parishes: Keorapukur in 1968, Thakurpukur in 1971, Baruipur in 1987, Sajnaberia in 2000, and Hogulkuria in 2018. In 1977 the Archdiocese of Calcutta was bifurcated, and Raghabpur St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was attached to the Diocese of Baruipur.
Socio-Economic situation
Raghabpur is still a rural, even though it is situated on the fringes of the city of Kolkata. Our people, Christian population, our people most of them belong to the OBC Category (Other Backward Castes), farmers who eke out their living from the land. Agriculture is their predominant occupation. They are mostly tillers of the soil. Most of them have very small land holdings, many of them are without land and are compelled to live a hand to mouth existence.
Fishery is another major occupation because of the surrounding water-bodies. Some are auto-rickshaw and cycle van drivers. Very few have blue or white collar jobs in Kolkata. Thus it can be said that the majority of the people are very poor and belong to the marginalized sections of the Society. They are faced with constant floods, insufficient protection against the rampaging monsoon rains, and constant threat of cyclonic weather. It is these people and their children who are served by the mission. .
Existing Social Problems
There are many social problems which also need to be address.
- Since the people here are mostly economically poor, there is lack of adequate nutrition, thus many of the children suffer from health related problems.
- Many, both young and old, are addicted to alcohol and drugs. As a result, average life expectancy of the people does not exceed 50 years.
- Many neighbouring villages still do not have proper drinking water facilities.
- Sex trafficking, while not widespread, is still a menace because of the impoverished economic condition.
- Many young boys and girls drop out of school for financial and other reasons.
- During the rainy season there is water logging everywhere, and the entire vicinity is flooded, and very little is being done to alleviate the situation.
- Adequate transport facilities are not there in many of our far flung areas.
- Medical facilities are also scarce, forcing our people to travel long distance to Kolkata, in case of any emergency.
Pastoral Care of the faithful
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Raghabpur is a Jesuit Pastoral Institute dedicated to the spiritual needs and wholesome development of the parishioners and all those who are involved with it. St. Joseph’s Church Raghabpur mainly serves the Catholic community in and around the place.
Deeply rooted in the Gospel values and the vision and mission of the Society of Jesus, it is therefore committed to treat the children and vulnerable adults with protective care and respect. We are committed to lead the faithful to God and to teach them right behaviour. Any act of violence and immoral behaviour is not tolerated at all.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Raghabpur is supported by the following sub-committees to cater to the pastoral needs of the people:
- Altar boys and girls.
- St. Joseph’s youth group
- Parish council
- Parish council core group
- Society of St. Vincent De Paul
- Catholic Living Community (CLC)
- Small Christian Community (SSC)
- Women’s commision
The main aim and objective of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Raghabpur is to create a Christian Community based on the universal love of Christ. The vision of the parish is the mission of justice and reconciliation. So that women and men can be reconciled with God, with themselves and with the entire creation of God.
Our Pastoral activities are aimed at developing Christian spirituality, fostering communion and sympathy among them. The activities above include liturgy, religious celebrations, retreats, camps, seminars and other events. Prayer experience play an important role in developing a Christian Community in this parish. The symbol of the cross that we use expresses our faith in Christ i.e. the belief that victory won’t be celebrated by selfishness or death, but by love and life.
The Christian community life helps us to value small things, to accept life as a gift, to thank him, as Christ did. We go through the secrets of the saviour’s life with retreats and celebrate them with liturgy. We experience mutual communion in prayer, charity campaigns, social activities, camps, etc.
The present condition of the church:
Over the years, many natural calamities like Super Cyclones and minor earthquakes have affected the foundation of the church’s structure. As a result, the church’s wall has developed cracks vertically and horizontally, and its foundation has been distressed due to the imbalance of weight on the structure.
The church has also undergone repairs and renovations in the past, and an enormous amount of money has been invested to keep the church services going.
Of late, when we noticed cracks developing on the church walls, we commissioned two different architects to study the structural stability of the church building. According to the study report of the architects, they have certified that the present building structure is not safe for people to use, and the foundation of the structure has been distressed. It can further extend the cracks on the walls as time passes by.
The structural report of the building by the structural experts recommended church building, in its present status, is not safe for use. In the light of the structural information Rev. Fr. Raphael Hyde SJ, Provincial of Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus, advised the Jesuit community, the Parish Core Committee and the Parish council members to stop all the church activities in the present church building for the safety of the faithful and the visitors. Accordingly, we have shifted our church services to the nearby parish hall, which is too small to accommodate all our parishioners on Sundays and other weekday services.
For the construction of a new church, the faithful have already started collecting funds. Because a large section of the members of our church live below the poverty line, have no permanent job and are daily labourers, and they will not be able to pay the entire cost of the new church.
Though we are trying our best, yet we need the help of external sources to procure funds for the construction of the new church. Therefore, we request your good self to help us in getting the required fund for the new church.
Fr. Joseph Toppo, S.J.
Parish Priest