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Omzoor Meramajal | |
|---|---|
Parish | |
| Country |  |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Dakshina Kannada |
| Talukas | Bantwal |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Konkani, Tulu, kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 574143 |
| Nearest city | Mangalore |
Omzoor [1] is situated at a distance of 14 km from Mangalore to the north east and is surrounded by Neermarga, Belloor, Modankap, Fermai parishes.
Mangalore, officially known as Mangaluru, is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 352 km (219 mi) west of the state capital, Bangalore, between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats mountain range. It is the second major city in Karnataka state in all aspects after the capital city Bangalore. It is the only city in Karnataka to have all modes of transport — Air, Road, Rail and Sea along with 5 other major cities in India. It is also known as the Gateway of Karnataka. It is the largest city in the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. Mangalore is the second best business destination in Karnataka after Bangalore & 13th best in India. The population of the urban agglomeration was 623,841, according to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India.
Omzoor is also known as Arkul and Mermajal. This parish is one of the three ancient parishes of the Mangalore diocese. In 1568, a Franciscan priest built a church at Arkula, where presently Nitya Sahaaya Maatha High School is situated. This place is very near to the present church structure. Arkula church was later closed and in between 1601 and 1625 it was re-established and dedicated to the Holy Family. Bangera kings of Nandavar donated the land to build the present Holy Family Church at Omzoor. After the return of the Christians from the captivity at Srirangapattana in 1799, the church was rededicated and Fr Joachim Manuel Mendis became the first parish priest of the re-dedicated church. Omazoor is the Mother Church of Belloor (1920), Kelarai (1935) and Neermarga (1968). A shed that was built at Fermai by Fr Andrew D’Souza was officially erected in 1999 as chapel and later, on 20 May 2004 into a parish. He has built a presbytery cum hall at the basement and a church above it.
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. Veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a Confraternity.
Christians are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words Christ and Christian derive from the Koine Greek title Christós (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ).
During the last 150 years the church building has undergone many renovations, additions and other improvements according to the needs of the time. Fr Aloysius Rodrigues (1953-1973) renovated and remodelled the building and it was blessed on 27 November 1959. Fr Andrew D’Souza (1997) renovated the church façade and changed the flooring. He also repaired and added a few rooms to the presbytery. He obtained w acres of land from Gilbert D’Souza of Kodman and 1-acre (4,000 m2) from the family of Archbishop Alphonsus Mathias at Kodman free of cost with a view of building a church there. Fr James D'Souza is the 46th parish priest of Omzoor since 1759.
