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Location : 

Sampaje is a small parish, situated in the foothills of Western Ghats, nearly 110 kms away from Mangalore, on the way to Madikeri – Mysuru. It is on the border of Mangalore and Mysore Diocese, as well as Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu district.

The beginning : 

In the beginning of 20th century there were two or three families living here , for whose spiritual needs Mr. Venantius P. Coelho donated two acres of land to the Diocese of Mangalore. In 1936 Rev. Fr. R. D. Sequeira, the Parish Priest of Puttur, built a small chapel. In 1937 Sullia mission was bifurcated from Puttur and Sampaje was taken care of by the Sullia mission.

Sampaje, being the part of Sullia Mission, was started by the well known Jesuit missionary Rev. Fr. Camissa, with the help of Olivet brothers. Later several other missionaries toiled tirelessly for the growth of Sampaje mission, which was eventually raised to the status of a Parish in 1962 by Bishop Raymond D’Mello.

Today there are 80 families, with 300 people living in this parish. Most of the families are poor and coolie workers, hardly having any land for cultivation. Though Sampaje is raised to the status of a parish, it still remains as a mission station because of poverty and lack of education. The chapel which was constructed in 1936, was extended later, has become weak and beyond any repair. Hence the church building is in need of total renovation which would cost around Rs 125 lakhs. Because of the poverty of the people , they are not able to meet these expenses by themselves and are really in need of generous help from people worldwide.

Parish Priests who have served in the parish :

• Fr Patrick Rodrigues (1984  -85)
• Fr Thomas C D'Souza (1985 - 92)
• Fr Francis Louis D'Sa (1992 - 95)
• Fr Nelson Olivera (2002 - 2008)
• Fr Stephen D'Souza (2008 - 2012)
• Fr Vincent Anil Menezes (.... till 2018)
• Fr Naveen Prakash Pinto (2018 - 2020)
• Fr Paul Crasta (from 2020 onwards)

(Complete list will be published soon)

Compiled by Catholic Time Staff
Last updated in Dec 2020.

Related Links : 

• History of Mai De Deus Church, Puttur