The history of the Karnataka Province began when nine Jesuits landed on the bank of the river Netravati in Mangalore on December 31, 1878, at 11.30 a.m., to be exact. The nine were: Frs Nicholas Pagani, Angelo Mutti, Augustus Muller, Angelo Maffei, Otto Ehrle, Quintinus Sani, Urban Stein, and Bros. Francis Zamboni and Matthew Maneghetti. The Catholics of Mangalore had been repeatedly requesting the Holy See to send them Jesuits mainly for the education of their children. According to their requests, the Holy See carved out Mangalore with its suburbs and Calicut from the jurisdiction of Verapoly and Padrado on Sept. 27, 1878, and directed Fr General of the Society of Jesus to take up the territory. The General entrusted the work to the Jesuits of the Venetian Province. Till then the Carmelites had been serving the territory.
In spirit and by their Constitutions the Jesuits cannot undertake the charge of dioceses or desire hierarchical rank or seek ecclesiastical honours. Theirs has to be a helping service in the local Church or a pioneering service to set up a normal hierarchical structure. Once this is done, they quit the diocese or remain as helping agents in their specialised field of work. For the rest St Ignatius did not circumscribe or limit the scope or type of work within the vision of a Jesuit's life. The only norm he set was the good of souls and the greater glory of God-within the bounds of obedience: "It is according to our vocation to travel to various places and to live in any part of the world where there is hope of God's greater service and the help of souls". (Constitutions)
