HISTORY IN NUTSHELL
The Metamorphosis - Our Lady of Fatima Church, Kallukoottam
Hills and oceans may mark our geographical boundaries but the annals of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Kallukoottam evolve boundless as the local catholic congregation experiences a multifaceted growth. Biblically, it must be the parable of the mustard seed (Mt 13:31-32) that well depicts the aforementioned imperatives.
The following are the milestones that it had to pass through to reach the present status.
| 1951 | The church traces back its humble origin as a Bhajan Kurusady†. |
| 1960 | With 18 families it was raised to the status of substation of the neighboring Parish Manguzhi (2 kms). From then on the sacraments of wedding and funeral masses were conducted. To bring the children up in catholic faith rudimentary catechism classes were taken on one of the week days. |
| 1963 | Christmas and Easter Eucharistic celebrations were introduced. |
| 1964 | As it was detached from Manguzhi to be attached to Konamkadu Parish (3.5 kms), it gained the status of substation with Sunday Masses. (The Sunday Masses the greatest gift ever the village could get). |
| 1964 | The foundation stone to the existing church was laid by Fr. Lazar the first catholic priest from the village. |
| 1965 | Christian Life Community (CLC) for women was started. |
| 1978 | Christian Life Community (CLC) for men was started. |
| 1979 | Vincent De Paul Society was started. |
| 1990 | To mark the Silver Jubilee of CLC-Women Wing Rs. 24, 000/- were allotted to start an education fund to the Catholics of the village. |
| 1994 | Anbiangal (Basic Christian Communities) were introduced and carried out under the guidance of the diocese. |
| 1998 | Till 1998 there was no tax for the Catholics of the village. Foreseeing the growing need to maintain the church, tax was introduced. |
| 2005 | To mark the Silver Jubilee of CLC-Men Wing Rs. 30, 000/- were allotted to start a fund for the welfare of the poor. |
| 2007 | Fr. Mariadasan, Co-Pastor was given to shepherd the local flock. |
| 2008 | Welcome to Fr. Mariadasan who was installed as the first parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Kallukoottam on 29 Jan 2008. Heart felt thanks to Fr. Jeyaprakash, the Parish Priest of Konankadu who got into the annals as the last parish priest of our substation. |
†Bhajan Kurusady means a thatched shed where they start and end the carols with a prayer during winter. In those days when Cholera was rampant, the death toll crossed the limit of tolerance and consolation. To comfort the bereaved ones the songs were composed and sung during night from a house to house. Thanks to Mr. Anthony Muthu, former Head Master, St Mary’s Hr. Sec. School Colachel and the first graduate who took initiatives to bring this structure to existence.
