Articles

Brief History of Catholic Church in Tripura through Chronological Timeline

Opinion | Articles | Vincent T Darlong | 14-Jan-2021

Introduction

The year 2021 is an important milestone for the Catholic Church in Tripura. In February-March 2021, the Diocese of Agartala will conclude the year-long celebration of its Silver Jubilee. In 2020, the Diocese commemorated the 25th year of Episcopal Ordination of its first and beloved Bishop Rt. Rev. Lumen Monteiro CSC, DD. The footprint of the Catholic Church in Tripura is both recent and historical. A small population of Catholics was in Tripura in the 17th Century from the Portuguese descendants who were in the service of the King of Tripura. The Catholic faith reached to the native communities only from 1939- 1940 onwards, although Christianity had entered Tripura via Mizoram around 1917-1919, mainly among the Mizo and Darlong Kuki people residing in the northern part of the State. Until 1969, the entire state of Tripura was under a single Parish located at Mariamnagar, about six kilometer from the Agartala town. Today, Tripura has 20 Parishes with over 47,000 Catholics² and the number is growing.

2. Historical background

The historical footprint of Christianity in Tripura is over 400 years or more. Fr. Ignatius Gomes, a Jesuit priest, made the first reference to the Christians of Mariamnagar near Agartala when he visited them in 1683 (Syiemlieh, 2006³). These Christians (Catholics) were Portuguese mercenaries and their descendants who were employed in the service of the Maharaja of Tripura. It is mentioned that the Portuguese Catholic Christian Community were settled permanently at Mariamnagar in 1760 during the reign of Maharaja Amar Manikya. About 200 years later Fr. P. Barbe, the Pastor of Chittagong, visited Tripura and the Christians of Mariamnagar in 1843. Several years later, pioneering Holy Cross missionaries Fr. Louis Augustine Verite CSC⁴ and Fr. Beboit Adolphe Mercier CSC visited Tripura in 1856 to administer sacraments to the Catholic community at Mariamnagar. When another Holy Cross missionary Fr Michael Fallize CSC came to administer sacraments in 1891, he counted 185 persons in Mariamnagar⁵. But it was only from 1937 that Priests began to take up permanent residence at Mariamnagar.

3. 1937: Arrival of permanent resident priest at Mariamnagar (near Agartala)

In January 1937, the first permanent resident priest arrived at Mariamnagar. He was Rev. Fr. Raymond Massart CSC who got permission to stay in Tripura from the Maharaja of Tripura. In fact, it took many years of efforts to secure permission for the missionaries to enter the Kingdom of Tripura. It may be mentioned that the King of Tripura had permitted the Holy Cross missionaries to enter and settled in Tripura on one condition that they should not try to convert the Tripuri community into Christianity.

4. 1939: Erection of Mariamnagar Parish

The first Parish in the Kingdom of Tripura was formally inaugurated in 1939 and was dedicated to Shantir Rani (Queen of Peace). Thus, it was known as Shantir Rani Mariamnagr Parish and Catholic Church. Rev. Fr. Raymond Massart CSC was installed as the first Parish Priest. Besides the Portuguese descendants of Catholics at Mariamnagar and nearby Kashipur village, it was during this period that Garo Christians from Mymensingh and Sylhet districts of the then East Bengal started to enter Tripura. Soon after the establishment of the Mariamnagar Parish, the mission received two more priests in the persons of Fr. Joseph Voorde CSC and Fr Vincent J. McCauley⁶ CSC. With the arrival of these two additional missionaries, contact with the Uchoi and Darlong (Kuki) people started with earnestness since the year 1939-1940. Mariamnagar Parish celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in 2014.

5. 1948: The first Catholic School & Boarding Houses in Tripura

The first Catholic School in Bengali medium known as Mariamnagar Catholic School was started in 1948. With the construction of boarding or hostel for boys and girls along with the school, even tribal boys and girls from remote villages started their schooling at Mariamnagar. This became the transformational initiation of the tribal communities in Tripura. Until then, the Catholics were mainly from three tribal communities of Garo, Uchoi and Darlong, besides the Portuguese descendants at Mariamnagar and Kashipur. The year 1948 also witnessed the birth of a social service organisation called the Catholic Jana Sangha (credit cooperative society) that reclaimed many of the alienated poor tribal lands through mortgage systems, besides promoting cooperative fishery, orchards, and improved farming systems in the tribal areas, otherwise dependent on shifting cultivation (Jhum). Unfortunately, in spite of good and progressive works done by the Catholic Jana Sangha, the society became dysfunctional by late 1970s or early 1980s due to lack of human and financial resources.

6. 1952: Consecration of Shantir Rani Catholic Church and Erection of Prefecture of Haflong: The present pucca Church at Mariamnagar (construction started in 1950) was consecrated in 1952 (the front portion of the old Church had since been re-furbished for the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee in 2014). Rev Fr Leo Gomes CSC from Dhaka, who was the then Parish Priest, was the main builder of the Church. The year 1952 also saw another milestone in the erection of the Prefecture of Haflong comprising Tripura, Mizoram, North Cachar Hills & Cachar (plain) district of Assam. Msgr George Breen CSC was entrusted with the leadership of the new Prefecture.
7. 1965: Indian Holy Cross Fathers in Tripura

Until 1965, the Holy Cross missionaries in Tripura were mainly from the American and later the FrenchCanadians, besides few from native East Bengal. From 1965 onwards, the Indian Holy Cross Fathers from South India started arriving in Tripura. The pioneering missionaries who arrived in Tripura from South India were Rev. Fr. Mathew Vadakedom CSC (1937-2007), Rev. Fr. Mathew Ullatil CSC (1939-2011) and Rev. Fr. Thomas Thengumpally CSC (1939- 2018). These pioneers deeply implanted the Catholic faith as well as Holy Cross presence in Tripura and the Congregation continue to grow and invest in Tripura in the field of education, social service, parish ministry, family apostolate and spiritual deepening attracting native vocations from various tribal communities of the State.

8. 1968: Arrival of Bethany Sisters

The year marked the arrival of the Little Flowers of Bethany (Bethany Sisters) in Tripura, the first women religious congregation in the state. Teaming with the Holy Cross Fathers in schools and social services, the Bethany Sisters immensely contributed to the growth of the Church in Tripura, which they continue to do with much dedication. The first Bethany Sisters who came to Tripura were Sr. Claudia, Sr. Clementia, Sr. Eva and Sr. Asumpta Maria.

9. 1969: Creation of Second Parish of Tripura at Kumarghat & erection of Silchar Diocese In 1969, the second Parish was established at Kumarghat, pastoring the scattered Catholic families in the Northern part of the State. The creation of second Parish at Kumarghat enabled the Church and the priests to be closer to the people. The villages that received sacraments once in a year, started receiving more frequently with the establishment of the second Parish at Kumarghat. The pioneers were Canadian Holy Cross Father Rev Fr Thomas Fortin CSC as the Parish Priest, and Rev Fr Thomas Thengumpally CSC as the assistant. The year 1969 was also a milestone in the erection of the Silchar Diocese (covering the areas under the erstwhile Haflong Prefecture). Most Rev Denzil D’Souza was installed as the first Bishop of Silchar Diocese.
10. 1970: The birth of Holy Cross School, Agartala (English Medium)

The start of an English medium school in Agartala town in the name of Holy Cross School. This marked another chapter in the educational apostolate of the Church, enabling to reach out to non-Christians through education in the heart of the town, as well as providing opportunities for tribal boys and girls to begin their education in English medium. The School was started by Rev. Fr. Roger Marcel CSC, the then Parish Priest of Mariamnagar. Soon, the Bethany Sisters joined to nurture the school. Started in a rented building, today the Holy Cross School is one the landmark schools of Agartala and in the entire state.

11. 1972: Departure of Foreign Missionaries from Tripura

A period of concerns for the Church in Tripura in that all the three Canadian missionaries had to leave Tripura and India. They were Rev. Fr. Roger Marcel CSC, Rev. Fr. Thomas Fortin CSC and Rev Fr George Leclerc CSC. This resulted in heavy responsibilities on the Indian Holy Cross Fathers who were limited in human and financial resources at that point of time. Fortunately, two volunteer priests, Fr Freddie from Kolkata (Calcutta) and Fr. John Joseph CST from Kerala immediately came to Tripura to help in both the Parishes of Mariamnagar and Kumarghat.

12. 1980: Year of intense social challenges

A sad and unfortunate year for the Church in Tripura. During the communal violence in June 1980, the presbytery (the Fathers’ House) of Mariamnagar mission was burnt down by some miscreants. The then Parish Priest Rev Fr Peter Chittayath CSC and the Bethany Sisters had narrow escape by hiding in the tall paddy fields at night. Four most significant outcomes of this incidence had been: (a) loss of all the Parish and Holy Cross community records that were kept in the presbytery; (b) discontinuation of boarding houses both for boys and girls at Mariamnagar; (c) Mariamnagar as the centre of Catholic faith and activities became almost dysfunctional; and (d) it took almost a year for the Holy Cross priests to return to the mission centre at Mariamnagar. Gradually, the Holy Cross Fathers withdrew from Mariamnagar and by 1991 the mission was handed over to the Salesians of Don Bosco.

13. 1981: Mariamnagar School handed over to the Government Administrator

The Mariamnagar School, the first Catholic School in the state, established in 1948, which by now became a full-fledged Govt-funded High School had to be handed over to the Government Administrator following various internal situations. Thankfully, the Catholic Church had been growing silently and by now, new Parishes and Schools had been established in many rural strategic locations of Tripura, catering to the educational needs and faith-building processes of emerging rural Catholic communities, particularly in the tribal areas.

14. 1996: Erection of the Diocese of Agartala & Installation of its first Bishop:

The year 1996 is a very significant milestone in the history of the Catholic Church in Tripura. The Diocese of Agartala, covering the entire state of Tripura, was created out of the erstwhile Silchar Diocese, and Rt. Rev. Lumen Monteiro CSC, DD was installed as the first Bishop of Agartala Diocese in May 1996. The occasion brought in enormous jubilation and renewed energy among the Catholic faithful in Tripura. The Church continues to grow both in numbers and materials in the State under the leadership of Bishop Lumen along with cooperation of various religious societies working in the state.

15. 2021: Silver Jubilee Year of Agartala Diocese & the Catholic Church Today

The year 2021 is the Silver Jubilee Year of Agartala Diocese. The diocese level preparation started right from 2019 onwards and expected to culminate in February or March 2021. The theme of the Silver Jubilee is “Rejoice with Gratitude... Renew with Hope”. Besides the Silver Jubilee logo and Silver Jubilee Prayer to be recited by the faithful, since 2019, many events, both at the Parish level and Diocese level had been planned and concluded. In the year of Silver Jubilee of the Diocese of Agartala, it is also important to reflect and appreciate with onward hope on the following significant attributes of the Catholic Church in Tripura.

15.1 The landscape of Catholic Church today in Tripura The following statistical landscape of Catholic Church today in Tripura had been compiled from the website of Agartala Diocese⁷ .

1. Total population	45.00 lakhs (approximately)
2. Total Christians	1.60 lakhs (as per 2011 Census)
3. Percentage of Christians	4.35% (as per 2011 Census)
4. Total Catholics	47,000
5. Percentage of Catholics to all Christians	29.37% (not from the Diocese website)
6. No of Parishes	20
7. No of priests (diocesan & religious)	72
8. No of religious Brothers	07
9. No of religious Women	110
10. No of High School	30
11. No of Higher Secondary School	06
12. No of Colleges	01
13. No of Health Centres	09
14. No of orphanages, leprosarium, home for invalids & rehabilitation centre	07
15. Houses of Men Religious	09
16. Houses of Women Religious	29
17. Houses of formation for religious life	03

 

15.2     The growth of the religious congregations

Following is the list of religious societies of men and women working in Tripura⁸.

Name of the Religious Societies/Congregations	Date of Entry  in Tripura	No of Centres
PRIESTS
1.  Fathers of Holy Cross	1937	14
2. Salesians of Don Bosco	1991	8
3. Society of the Divine Word	1992	8
4. Order of Franciscan Minor, Cap.	1999	2
5. Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales	2006	3
BROTHERS
1. Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel	1990	2
SISTERS
1. Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany (BS)	1968	5
2. Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)	1990	3
3. Missionaries of Charity (MC)	1977	2
4. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians ( MSMHC)	1998	5
5. Missionary Sisters-Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS)	1995	5
6. Sisters of Charity of Ss. B. Capitanio & V. Gerosa ( SCCG)	1996	1
7. Fatima Sisters ( FS)	1998	3
8. Holy Cross Sisters (CSC)	2005	2
9. Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy (SJA)	2007	3
10. Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC)	2011	2
11. Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (SABS)	2010	2
12. Apostolic Carmel (AC)	2012	1
13. Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul (SCV)	2013	2
14. Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM)	2013	2
15. Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB)	2013	1
16. Ursuline Franciscan Sisters (UFS)	2015	1
17. Franciscan Servants of Mary (FSM)	2015	2

 

15.3 Lest we forget: brief contribution of lay leaders and catechists in the Church

Typical of much other Catholic growth among the tribal communities in Northeast India, in Tripura too, the lay leadership and the catechists played significant roles in implanting the faith and the Church among various tribal communities. In the initial years of the Catholic Church in Tripura, one of the prominent lay leaders had been Shri Diplash Kumar Ritchil (popularly known as Dipu Sir). He came to Tripura around 1948-49 from Mymensing district of the then East Pakistan. He had been one of the main architects of the Catholic Jana Sangha in Tripura since 1952 for the socio-economic upliftment of the poor tribal people of the state. He and his wife also taught in Mariamnagar School and became its Headmaster until his retirement in 1989. He died in Tura, Garo Hills in 2013 at the age of 92. Another prominent lay leader from Mariamnagar had been Mr Benedict D’Souza who had worked tirelessly along with Dipu Sir for the upliftment of the rural poor through the Catholic Jana Sangha.

And the prominent catechists during the mid-1950s through 1960s and 1970s were Mr Lucas Sku, Mr Romen, Mr Paulrenga Lushai, Mr Lalngula Darlong, Mr Francis Mawia Darlong, Mr Thanda Chandra Uchoi and others who had dedicated their life as catechist-teacher in their respective places thereby immensely contributing to the growth of the Catholic Church in Tripura. Memoire of their days read adventurous as they braved rain, rivers, winter cold, summer heat, wildlife, snakes and malarial mosquitos to reach out to the scattered Catholic communities and also to instruct the new families and catechumen in faith, mostly traveling on foot with scarce resources at their disposal except their high spirit of dedication in the service of the Church. Today, every Parish is backed and supported by fairly young catechists drawn from their respective communities in the State.

15.4 Laity Movement

Since the establishment of the Diocese of Agartala, under the mentoring encouragement of the Bishop and priests, the laity had been playing important role in the life of the Church in Tripura. Led by largely youthful and educated Catholic laity, the Catholic Laity Association of Tripura (CLAT) had been doing commendable activities. Each year, the CLAT has been organising diocese-level Eucharistic Procession that provided opportunities for the Catholic youth in particular from all the parishes to pray together and express their faith as a community of faith-filled congregation. In the hind side, such activities bring in a sense of friendship and communal integrity among various tribal communities of Tripura.

16. Concluding Remarks

The Catholic faith in Tripura today has been well received by the various tribal communities of the state such as Debbarma, Reang, Darlong, Halam, Garo, Jamatia, Tripura, Molsom, Hrankhawl, Bongcher, Mog, Ranglong, Kuki and Lusai/Mizo. While the Portuguese descendants of Catholics in Mariamnagar and Kashipur will have their own stories of how they kept their faith alive for generations, even when there were no Catholic priests visiting them for decades, even the new Catholics among every tribe or village will also have their own stories of how they had received the Catholic faith. It would be wonderful if these experiences are adequately documented as many of these transformational stories would be inspirational and faith-deepening. Perhaps NECRF, the local Diocese and the state Laity Association could team up in future to undertake such studies.

It is estimated that over 80% of 47,000 Catholics in the state are those who received the faith in the last 20-30 years only. Therefore, in many way, the Church in Tripura is still young, particularly young in faith where the process of deepening of faith is ongoing activities. For the priests it would indeed be challenging to pastor among the multi-cultural-multi-lingual communities like in Tripura. Here lies the importance of developing lay leaderships in a developing tribal communities of Tripura to support the Church and those who would be able to work alongside their pastors and shepherd.

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References:

1. Currently he is Vice Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong. He is from Kathalcherra Parish in Dhalai District of Tripura.
2. agartaladiocese.org accessed on 10th January 2021.
3. Syiemlieh, D.R. (2006) Christianity in Tripura: A Brief History. In D.R. Syiemlieh (Ed), Diocese of Agartala: Ten Years and Onwards (pp. 22-28). Bishop House, Agartala.
4. The Congregation of Holy Cross was founded in 1837 in France by Blessed Basil Moreau and the first Holy Cross missionaries arrived in Bengal (Dhaka) in 1853.
5. Hormis John CSC (2014). Holy Cross Missionaries and the Beginnings of Mariamnagar Parish. In Fr. J.R. Venadt SDB (Ed), Platinum Jubilee (1939-2014): Shantir Rani Catholic Church, Mariamnagar, Agartala (pp. 30-32)
6. Fr Vincent J. McCauley CSC was entrusted with the mission among the Darlong Kuki people in Northern Tripura during 1939- 40. Unfortunately, soon after, he contracted
7. malaria and due to health reason, had to return to the United States. After health recuperation, he again became a missionary in Uganda in Africa and became the Bishop of Fort Portal in Uganda, from 1961- 1972. He died in 1984. He was declared as “Servant of God” in 2006 and his cause for sainthood has been introduced by the Diocese of Fort Portal, Uganda.
8. agartaladiocese.org accessed on 10th January 2021
9. agartaladiocese.org accessed on 10th January 2021

(The Author is Vice Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong, and a pioneer Catholic intellectual from Tripura. He can be reached on vtdarlong@gmail.com. )

 

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