Prior to 1997, Koteshwar was part of St. Pius X Church, Piusnagar. The then parish priest of Pius Nagar church Rev Fr Lawrence Maxim Noronha established a chapel dedicated to St Antony in 1997.
The chapel was entrusted to the care of the Carmelites of Karnataka and Goa province in 2001 and since then the Carmelite priests have been offering daily Mass at this chapel.
The long awaited dream of establishing a parish in Koteshwar was realized on January 30, 2011.
Episcopal Vicar Fr Baptist Menezes read the decree from the Bishop of Mangalore and declared St Anthony’s Chapel a parish.
Carmelites Karnataka and Goa Provincial Dr Archibald Gonsalves was present on the occasion. Fr Vincent D’Souza, who had earlier served for 10 years in a church in the State of Bahrain took charge as the first parish priest of St Anthony’s parish, Koteshwar.
Provincial Dr Archibald acknowledged the services of Fr Maxim Noronha in establishing St Anthony’s Chapel, Fr Walter Mendonca, parish priest of Pius Nagar for facilitating the process, and Fr Boniface D’Souza for taking leadership.
Episcopal Vicar Fr Baptist Menezes conveyed best wishes to Carmelites taking over the administration of Koteshwar parish. Carmelite priests Fr Cyril Menezes, Fr Melvyn D’Cunha, and Fr Deep Fernandes were also present.
Parish Priests who have served at the parish :
- Fr Vincent D’Souza OCD
- Fr Cyril A. Menezes, OCD
(Complete list will be updated soon)
Compiled by Catholic Time Staff
Last updated in Dec 2021
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