Holy Family Church Trimulgherry

Holy family church, Trimulgherry is a Roman Catholic Church situated near Lal Bazar at Secunderabad. This Parish was established in 1880. It is one of the biggest parishes in the archdiocese of Hyderabad. The Parish consists of various linguistic groups such as Tamil, Telugu, English, Malayalam, Konkani.

In 1880 at the request of Nizam Mahaboob Ali Khan VI, the British Government stationed a battalion at Trimulgherry. To meet the spiritual needs of the catholic military personnel, a Church dedicated to St Patrick was erected within the Fort (now called St Patrick's Garrison Church). The military chaplain residing at St. Mary's chapel, Mornington Road, for the convenience of the common people, chiefly the menial staff of the officers and soldiers, wanted another church closer to their homes. His strenuous efforts soon bore fruit. The governor-general of India leased five and half acres of land for the construction of a church, and thus the first Holy Family Church was built in the year 1880 near Lal Bazar in Trimulgherry village.

This church was evidently an impoverished one, built with just mud walls and able to accommodate only a hundred people. Fr Vismara Dionigi was the first parish priest. The church grew from strength to strength and by 1920 a bigger church had to be constructed. Fr Mariani Cesare meticulously planned it, with magnificent and towering high belfries. The interiors were intricately decorated with ornamental designs, matching paints and stained glass works; the altar was the most impressive one, built by the best Italian craftsmen, it stood as a testimony to their mastery in art and craftsmanship.

On either side of the main altar, were two side altars dedicated to Jesus and Mother Mary, with their beautiful life size statues. The devotion to Mother Mary, liturgical music and biblical plays formed the cultural legacy of the people of Trimulgherry Village. The special love to Mother Mary grew so rapidly that in 1921 a grotto was built in her honour. Liturgical celebrations, during Christmas, New Year, Holy Week, Easter and the feasts of Mother Mary were celebrated with unparalleled devotion and fervour.

Some of the antiques of the past are still preserved and used in the church. There are the four magnificent bells brought from Italy in 1921.

Under the guidance of Fr Mariani, the church also catered the educational and social development of the community.

On his request, Catechist Sisters of St. Francis, also known as Sahodaries sent a small team of dedicated sisters who began to teach and catechize the poor children of the locality from 1925 onwards. The convent and the school were eventually established.

As time passed by, lots of changes took place, perhaps to keep in tune with the times, and for the growth and development of the community, the Italian architectural Church was demolished and a new one (the third) was built in its place in 1991-1992 by Fr Paneer Selvam. The people, whether rich or poor, contributed profusely for this new church, some even to the extent of two or three times their salaries, which was another unparalleled feat of the community. The salient feature of the parish is that there are five chapels and 26 independent grottos which are maintained by the parishioners and their annual feasts are grandly celebrated to this very day.

Parish Priest Rev Fr UJ Chinnappa Reddy, said, "our mission is to value our faith and rededicate our commitment to worship God through the holy sacrifice of the Mass, frequent sacramental participation, self-sacrifice, prayer and meditation, and offering of daily actions to the honor and glory of God. We nourish our Christian community by encouraging involvement of all generations in parish activities; enriching the domestic family and cultivating a parish community centered in Christ."