"History is a storehouse of human experience and as such an irreplaceable educator. For sure knowledge of the past lets us draw upon earlier human experience, facilitating our leap into the future with a sense of ease and confidence." Fr Vijay Kumar Prabhu, SJ in"The Burning Bush: The History of Karnataka Jesuit Province"by Fr Devadatta Kamath, SJ

Saturday, July 23, 2022

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/

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