In the city of Kolkata(Calcutta) and adjacent places there are many historical Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Many of them came up in Calcutta when East India company took complete control over Bengal in the middle of the 18th century. As more British and other Europeans moved in for jobs, there was a necessity to open up many churches. Portuguese were responsible for the establishment of Christianity in Bengal in the 16th century. In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bengal. Missionary and educator William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali in 1809.
The Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth, an 18th-century Armenian Apostolic church in Kolkata, India served as the center of the Armenian Community; they were mostly traders. The Armenian Church was first built in the year 1688 and later rebuilt in 1724. St. Paul's church (later cathedral) was established in 1787 by the British with support from the EIC. . Apparently, the first Portuguese Church in this part of Calcutta was the Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This historical house of worship - the Sacred Heart of Jesus was a Roman Catholic church used by the Portuguese settlers who had landed in Bengal much earlier than the arrival of the East India company. At that point of time they did not have a church for their growing community. According to the Bengal & Agra Guide and Gazetteer of 1841 the church's vicar was Rev Joao Correia. and coadjucator was Rev Jouquim Videira. The city of Calcutta came up in 1690.. The Calcutta High court ruled several yeas ago that Job Charnock was not the founder of Calcutta and the town had been there under different name.
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| 1834 Sacred Heart of Jesus Kolkata animeshray.com |
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| 1834 Sacred Heart of Jesus Kolkata commons.wikimedia.org |
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| Sacred Heart of Jesus Kolkata puronokolkata.com |
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| Sacred Heart of Jesus Kolkata .wikimedia.org |
What prompted the Portuguese family to establish the church here? In 1821, Ms de Souza’s son was tried by the Calcutta court for shooting and injuring a person named Joseph Gonsalves while on his way back home the old Chowringhi Theater. Unexpected and in deep pain, the mother took a resolution to build a church if her son would be acquitted. from the case framed by the police. After the trial the court did not find any substantial evidence produced by Joseph Gonsalves' family and ultimately found him not guilty. The court verdict gave her a big sigh of relief. Soon she made up her mind to get into fulfilling her resolution rather vow to build a church for Christ. The church built by her was under the parish of the padroado until 1844. Built in Gothic style with long pointed spire with tall columned façade the main hall of the church is con the first floor; there is a small chapel on the ground floor. The prayer hall is separated from the outer chamber by grill work and a door. The old church was renovate in the 1970s
https://puronokolkata.com/2014/03/13/portuguese-church-mugihata-kolkata-184
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/3196927690
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