Chronicle of St. Andrew’s Church Karumkulam

           Karumkulam :  It is a village close to the Arabian sea.  It is an important coastal village in the Christian religious history of Kerala.  The life rhythm of the people is closely related to the waves of the Arabian sea.  St. Andrew is the patron saint of this village.  It is also blessed by the presence of a statue of Fathimamatha.  From historical sources one can understand that the Christian faith existed for more than 521 years i.e. Christian faith was practised even before St. Francis Xavier came to India.  It points to the possibility of the faith imparted by the successors of St. Thomas the Aposte who preached the gospel in the eastern countries.

         With the special permission and blessing of Pope Paul II St. Francis Xavier started his missionary journey to the eastern countries in 1542.  During his journey he travelled from Goa to Kanyakumari preaching the gospel to the people of coastal villages.  About his missionary activities we have historical records.  In those days he used to bring together the scattered Christian believers, found places to give them Baptism, teach the prayers and to preach the gospel.  Later with the permission of the Portuguese king (because of his padroado right i.e. patronage) Francis can Fathers and other missionaries visited these places, where St. Francis Xavier worked, and built churches for the faithful.  Thus from Kariumkulam to Anjengo they built 5 prayer houses.  Of these the oldest church is the one dedicated to St. Andrew at Kariumkulam.

        At that time the areas included in the dioceses of Trivandrum and Neyyatinkara were part of the diocese of Kochi.  St. Andrew’s church at Kariumkulam was the only church for the faithful from Valiathura to Vizhinjam.  So it was called “Mother Church”.  At a time when there was no vehicles certain people from Valiathura to Vizhinjam used to come to the “Mother Church” on Sundays and other special days.  It is said that there existed a custom:  They used to receive the last blessing of the Mass on some white clothes which were carefully packed and took them to the respective places and after rosary and prayers, they unfolded them and the faithful assembled there received the blessing and joyfully returned to their homes.  Whenever the venerable Bishops from Goa and Kochi visited the coastal villages they used to stay at Kariumkulam.

         The ‘parch’ celebrated during the Holy Week gave the parish more prominence.  The events from the birth of Jesus to his death were enacted and many people from the neighbouring villages used to congregate to participate.

          As a part of the educational activities of the Portuguese missionaries a school was started near Kariumkulam church (where the government well is at present) in 1866.  Later it was shifted to ‘Kallumukku’ a little away from the church.  This school was very helpful in educating the children of the village and of the neighbouring villages as well.

          After creating the Kariumkulam church as a parish the earliest parish priests were from Goa and Kochi.  Kariumkulam was under the diocese of Kochi.  As far as we know around 1900 the parish priest was Rev. Fr. Peter Campus, a native of Thumboli, which was a part of Kochin diocese.

            The churches built by the Portuguese missionaries were small.  To accommodate more people bigger churches were built.  So also the school was not sufficient for the students.  Therefore it was shifted to Kallumukku, where the present St. Andrew’s L.S is located.  A presbytery was built in 1931, now it is used as the convent building. Kollam diocese was bifurcated and Trivandrum diocese was created on 1.7.1937. The ‘parch’ celebrated for several generations was stopped in 1946.

          To popularise Marian Devotion the statue of Fathimamatha was brought to Trivandrum in 1951 Kariumkulam church was one of the few churches selected to receive the statue to be installed and offer prayers.  Then onwards the Feast of Fathimamatha is celebrated devoutly in this parish.

            St. Andrew’s L.P.S was only up to the 3^rd Standard.  Permission was granted in 1953 to upgrade the school (No. 323/53 dated 2.2.1953).

          At the beginning of the Holy Week on Palm Sunday penitential procession was started because of the special interest of Fr. James Amando.  It is still continued in the foranate of Pullivila.  During the months dedicated for the special devotion of St. Joseph and Our Lady huts are built to conduct the devotions.  During the vacation to promote the abilities in art and cultural activities of the students of Kariumkulam and neighbouring parishes he took great interest in organising camps for the students.

            In 1972 several plots were purchased: the plot where the presbytery stands, the plot adjacent to the church etc.  In 1975 more plots were bought.  A sound system was bought for the church. In 1979 the parish had to face some difficult problems.

            Greater attention was given to celebrate the Feast of Fathimamatha.  In 1981 the “pavilion” before the shrine of Fathimammatha was built.  It is very helpful for the faithful to spend more time in the presence of Fathimamatha statue.

            The Superior General of the Kothelengo Congregation very Rev.Fr. Francisco Jamello laid the foundation stone for a new church on 30^th November 1982, the Feast day of St. Andrew.  It was also an occasion of great joy to the faithful of Kariumkulam parish.

                 Rt.Rev.Dr. Jacob Acharuparampil inaugurated on 25.3.1983 the 2^nd Convent (the 1^st one is at Fort Kochi) for the Sisters of St. Joseph Kothelengo, who came from Italy and other countries.  With it a long cherished desire and efforts of the parishioners were fulfilled.

            On 11.11.1984 the Brother General of the Kothelengo Congregation Rev. Matheo laid the foundation stone of the pre-primary school.  It was a step forward for the educational development of the parish.  The venerable Bishop blessed the school building and the then education minister T.M Jacob inaugurated the Kothelengo Pre-Primary school. It was the realisation of a dream of the parents of the coastal area.    Rev.Mgr. James Amando blessed the beautiful bell donated by the Sr. Superior of Kariumkulam convent Rev.Sr. Gabriela on 25.3.1986.

             The then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran distributed on 27.6.1985 an out- board engine, a boat and a net to 10 groups of fishermen, each group consisting of 4 fishermen.  This project was the first attempt for fishing using out-board engines.  It was a new step in the development of the traditional fishing practices.  Now many families own mechanised boats for fishing.

            The foundation stone of the special Housing scheme, with the cooperation of the ‘malsyafed’, was laid by the minister of Fisheries Shri A.L Jacob.  On the same day malsyafed’s production and Training cell (fish processing unit) was inaugurated to give jobs to 10 girls.

            The small sheds of the St. Andrew L.P.S was demolished and new building with better facilities were built.  In the month of March 1983 the presbytery was given to the Rev. Sisters.  A new beautiful presbytery was constructed within a short period.

            On 31.10.1984 the Trivandrum coastal development society was registered.  Within a short period of 4 years it has played an important part in the coastal development.  This society works in 7 coastal parishes of Trivandrum diocese.  From the beginning the office of the society was functioning at the presbytery, later on 3.3.1988 the office was shifted to another place.

On 10.4.1988 the foundation stone for the Technical Institute was laid by the Parish Priest. On 30.11.1988 the Bishop of Kottapuram, in the presence of the Bishop of Alapuzha Peter Chenapampil and Trivandrum Malakara auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Mar Ephrem, blessed the Fathimamatha ITC.   Knowing the need of the parish the Bishop of Trivandrum Soosapakiam blessed the auditorium named ‘Sauhrudam’, a symbol of unity.

            The shrine of Fathimamatha was demolished and the work for a new shrine was started on 15.8.1998, where together with the statue of Fathimamatha, the statues of St.Joseph, St.Micheal and Saviour of the world were proposed to be installed.  The expanded shrine was blessed by the Bishop of Trivandrum on 21.11.1998.

            During the period from 1996 to 2001, 14 stations were built along the beach to commemorate the passion of Christ.  The old presbytery was renewed into a Hall named ‘Sangamam’ to conduct Sunday classes.

From 2001 to 2006 several progressive steps were taken: Common comfort stations for the people, a van was bought for the school, English Medium Classes were introduced, U.P Classes were begun, Education Committee, Scholarships for students by sponsors, PSC coaching classes, vacation classes.  A library was started under the leadership of the Kalatharamgam.  Fahtimamatha ITC was restarted adding new courses.  Plots were found to rehabilitate people threatened by tsunami.  Houses were constructed with the help of TSSS and Malsyafed to rehabilitate people.

            The blessing of the houses and the banding over of the keys took place on 8.9.2007.  An information centre for students was started on 10.2.2008. Rev.Fr.Ashlin Jose and Rev.Fr. Shaji Silva were ordained for the Archdiocese on 31.3.2008.  They offered their 1^st Holy Mass together with 9 other new priests on 3.4.2008.  The people celebrated with great joy and it is to be recorded in golden letters in the history of the parish.

            For the first time an assistant parish priest was appointed on 27.4.2008.  The parish priest Silvester Kuris took charge of the Pulluvila Foranate in the presence of the Archbishop of Trivandrum.  On the same day the Silver Jubilee of the Kothelengo Convent was celebrated and a postulant took her first vows to become a member of the congregation.                

Though Karumkulam has a sound historical background, it has to be still bloomed in every way. Housing and sanitation are stil a big problem. Still need to teach and instruct them to manage their earnings and economy. Educational backwardness is a major issue. We need to chanelize the talents and abilities of the children and youth for the betterment of their family and soceity. A proper guidance in every sphere is needed for this village.