Mundgod - Hanagal

Mundgod is a small town located in the reserved forest area in the northern part of Karnataka. In 1980 Fr. Mathew Lewis went as parish priest of St. Rita’s Church, with a small number of Catholics. In 1991, with the help of the Charity Sisters, Fr Lewis started a school in the Church premises to educate the tribals (Siddhis, Gollas, and Gowlies) and Dalits who live in small villages deep in the forest. In 1993 under the able leadership of Fr. Lawrence Pinto the school was shifted to the present location (Karaginakoppa). In 1994 the primary school turned into a High School and then a composite PU College in 2003.

In view of preparing good teachers the Jesuits started a D. Ed College in 2004. However due to the changing policies of the government and lack of numbers, it was closed down. Fr. Lawrence Pinto followed a different education system. Along with the regular subjects he introduced additional subjects like farming, dairy, carpentry, etc., so that the students after their studies go back to their villages and help in rebuilding their village and make the villages self-sufficient. Instead of housing them in large hostel buildings, a cottage system was introduced. Each cottage had around 30 children with a kitchen, a garden and a warden. It was a new concept – school with a difference.

Loyola Vikas Kendra, a social action centre, works for the integral development of the poor, fighting for justice, building up their self-esteem, restoring human dignity, creating awareness, promoting health and hygiene, releasing them from the fetters of money lenders and eradicating poverty in Mundgod and HangalTalukas of Uttara Kannada and Haveri districts. This centre runs 5 village hostels, mainly for the Primary and the High school students.

St. Rita’s Parish has 3 sub-stations. The Catholics in two sub stations – Mainahalli and Ugginkere are mainly Siddhis who are descendants of African slaves brought to Goa by the Portuguese, and hence bear African features. Another substation is at Malagi. The parish at Mundgod looks after the socio-pastoral development of the people. St. Lawrence Church at Hangal is another parish under the supervision of the Mundgod Mission.

Bijapur - Sindagi

It was in 1991 at the request of the Diocese of Belgaum; Vijayapura (aka Bijapur) Jesuit Mission was started by the Jesuits of Karnataka Province. The main task of the Jesuits was to take care of the Catholic community of St. Anne’s Church, Bijapur. The first Jesuits who pioneered the mission were Fr. Ambrose D’Mello and Fr. Denis Alvares. Having made a situational analysis of the city, the Jesuits discovered that Bijapur was dominated by slums. Seeing the plight of the slum dwellers, they made an intervention in the slums of Vijayapura trying to raise the consciousness of the people and organizing educational and conscientization programmes for the marginalized. As they went ahead, they discovered a lot of child labourers in the whole of the district and began a Child Labourers School which was well recognized in the district.

After the diocese of Gulbarga was established in 2005, Vijayapura became a Deanery with the Mission Superior as the Dean. It comprises the missions of Vijayapura, Devarahipparagi, Indi, Kanakal, Sindagi, Almel, Muddebihal and Talikote. Seeing the immensity of the task, they sought the collaboration of other religious. Nine religious congregations of women accepted the invitation. They are spread out in the whole of the deanery of Vijayapura. The religious congregations there now are: Society of Jesus (SJ), Sisters of Charity (SCCG), Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny (SJC), Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes (SJT), Daughters of the Heart of Mary (DHM), Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (JMJ), Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions (RNDM), Ursuline Franciscan Sisters (UFS) and Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyons (SJL). Although each of the congregations/priests functions autonomously in the area assigned to them, they work as a team with a common vision, objectives, strategies and plan of action.

In Vijayapura and Sindagi, the Jesuits are involved in the following works: pastoral work through a parish (the only parish in the whole of the district of Vijayapura), securing basic amenities for the slum dwellers in 65 slums, technical education for the rural school dropouts, rehabilitation of Devadasis and commercial sex workers and the education of their girl children, formal education of the children of the slum dwellers, Devadasis, HIV infected and migrants, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, HIV/AIDS awareness in the slums of Vijayapura and Community Care of the HIV/AIDS infected persons of North Karnataka districts.

SINDAGI

Loyola School CBSE Sindagi began in 2011 as Loyola KG School at 'Sangama' Social Work Center near Jnana Bharati School, Sindagi. It was later shifted to the present new campus in 2013. The construction work of the school began on 16 October 2013.

Rev Fr Lawrence Pinto SJ was the founding father. Later Fr. Eric Mathias SJ served till 16 August 2014. Then came Dn. Lancy Dais who left in December and was replaced by Fr. Kanikyaraju as the Manager of the School.

The Year 2014 was one of the most significant years of Loyola School, Sindagi as it received an independent building for its classes. March 08, 2014 was the historic day as the building was dedicated to the students in the presence of our benefactor Rev Fr. W. Molinski SJ of German Province. Most Rev. Dr Robert Miranda, Bishop of Gulbarga, Mr. Oscar Fernandes, Minister of Road and Surface Transport Government of India, Mr. M.B. Patil, Minister of Irrigation, Government of Karnataka, Fr. Francis Serrao SJ Provincial of Karnataka and a large number of Jesuits and other well-wishers were present.

On 1 st of July 2015 the foundation stone for the faculty house Loyola Nivas was laid. In the month of September. a new computer lab with 35 computers was made available for the students of Loyola School. New Bus to Loyola School Sindagi was purchased on 18th May with the generous contribution of Rheinik; parish in Switzerland with the help of Fr Toni Kurmann. New play area for Loyola School Sindagi was constructed in the month of March 2015.

In 2017,the secondary school building work began in the campus. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyons were the collaborators. Later the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters (UFS). In the year 2018, Sr Milagrine UFS took over as the HM of Loyola School Sindagi. Little forest in the campus was named as 'Loyola Vana'.

In the year 2021, Fr Cyril Castelino was appointed as the new Principal of Loyola School. Presently Fr Lancy Fernandes SJ is the Principal since 2022.

Websites:

Bijapur: https://www.loyolainstitutions.org/

Sindagi: http://loyolasindagi.com/