MUMBAI (UCAN): Catholics have sought the restoration and protection of the 16th-century Our Lady of Mercy Church [Nossa Senhora Des Merces] in Thane, Maharashtra state, India, after it was reportedly left off a list of monuments in the new development plan by the local urban body.
The church was built by Portuguese Jesuits in 1562.
“When we went through the draft [of the development plan] we found that the name of the church was missing from the official list” of monuments, said Melwyn Fernandes, general secretary of the Mumbai-based Association of the Concerned Christians, said on December 12.
The organisation, along with the Bombay Catholic Sabha, sought immediate intervention of senior officials from Thane district to restore the church in its official records.
The Thane Municipal Corporation released its revised draft of the development plan for the city in October this year, inviting suggestions and objections from the citizens within 60 days.
The new development plan will be finalised after considering and including citizens’ views.
Fernandes said that they tried to get “clarification from the local authorities without any success.”
When we went through the draft [of the development plan] we found that the name of the church was missing from the official list [of monuments]
The association then filed a complaint with the district collector of Thane on December 9. The Bombay Catholic Sabha also complained to the top district official on December 10.
“We strongly believe that the church title was likely removed from the official record to benefit a private builder working close to the hurch site,” Justin Paul, a local parish unit leader of the Sabha, said.
Paul said they might take legal action by approaching courts in case the district collector “failed to address our concerns.”
The historical significance of the church can be gauged from a March 2021 letter from the Maharashtra Directorate of Archeology and Museums.
“The Portuguese period Our Lady of Mercy Church in Thane is an excellent specimen of Indo-Portuguese Cultural Heritage,” the directorate said in its letter to the district collector.
“At present, it exists in neglected and unprotected condition,” the letter noted and added, “considering the monument’s importance in the regional history… the directorate has recommended the inclusion of the church in the heritage list.”
At present, it exists in neglected and unprotected condition, considering the monument’s importance in the regional history… the directorate has recommended the inclusion of the church in the heritage list
The directorate also asked the district collector “to stop any attempt to demolish it and protect it and file a compliance report to this effect.”
Father John Almedia, a local parish priest, said he pointed out to the local urban body that the name of the church had been omitted from its records.
“We are hopeful that it will be settled,” he said.
Our Lady of Mercy Church is located in a neighbourhood called Pokhran and is around 45 kilometres from Mumbai [Bombay.
It was in regular use till 1737 when war broke out between the native Marathas and the Portuguese. The church was abandoned after the Portuguese were defeated in 1739 and the worshippers moved to St. John the Baptist Church in Thane.
The church is currently in ruins, a part of which is being claimed by a Hindu temple trust, Fernandes noted.
Fernandes was appointed as an intervener in the dispute in 2023 by a local court, as he felt the case was proceeding at a slow pace. The dispute dates back to 1970 when the church was being renovated and a stone with Hindu carvings was found at the entrance arch.
Nearby Hindus started a campaign claiming that the church existed on what was originally a temple of the Hindu god Shiva.
Thane district is dotted with many Catholic churches dating back several centuries. Christians make up around 2.5 per cent of the district’s over 11 million people, a majority of them Hindus.
