ABOUT

The history of Saint Pius X

Our Patron Saint Pope Pius X is known as the Pope of the Holy Eucharist. His original name was Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto. He was born on 2nd of June 1835 in Riese, Treviso, Italy. He was the second born of ten children of Giovanni Battista Sarto (1792-1852) and Margarita Sanson (1813-1894). Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was baptized on 3rd of June 1835. His childhood was filled with poverty and miseries. Though poor, his parents valued education, and Giuseppe walked 3.75 miles (6.04 km) to school each day. He was the brilliant student in the school. From his childhood he developed a profound devotion to Mother Mary. As a young student he learned Latin with his village priest and went to study at Castelfranco Veneto.
In 1850 he received the tonsure from the Bishop of Treviso. He completed his classical, philosophical, and theological studies with distinction in the Seminary of Padua. He was ordained priest on 18th of September 1858. He served as the chaplain at Tombolo and as the archpriest at Salzano. He served the People of God with total dedication ensuring the salvation of souls. Later, he was named as the canon of the cathedral and chancellor of the Diocese of Treviso, also holding offices such as spiritual director and rector of the Treviso seminary, and examiner of the clergy. In 1879, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was elected to the position of Vicar-Capitular of diocese of Treviso in which he served from December of that year to June 1880 until a new bishop was named. On 10 November 1884, he was appointed Bishop of Mantua by the Pope Leo XIII. Bishop Sarto's devout and sincere care of his flock in Mantua and deep spirituality prompted Pope Leo XIII to consecrate Bishop Sarto the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice in 1893.
On 4th of August 1903 he was elelcted as the holy 257th successor of Saint Peter. In accepting the papacy, Sarto took as his papal name Pius X. The pontificate of Pius X was noted for its conservative theology and reforms in liturgy and Church law. In what became his motto, the Pope stated in 1903 that his papacy would undertake Instaurare Omnia in Christo, or “to restore all things in Christ.” Pius X was a strong fighter against the errors of modernism. Because modernism tended to ignore certain traditional values in order to achieve its ends, Pius placed several Modernist books on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books) and in 1907 issued the decree Lamentabili Sane Exitu (On a Deplorable Outcome) and the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (Feeding the Lord's Flocks), rejecting Modernist teachings and suggesting remedies to extirpate them. He also urged immediate compliance with his strict censorship program. On September 1, 1910, he ordered that all teachers in seminaries and clerics before ordination take an oath denouncing Modernism and supporting Lamentabili and Pascendi.
In 1913, Pope Pius X suffered a heart attack, and subsequently lived in the shadow of poor health. In 1914, the pope fell ill on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August 1914), an illness from which he would not recover. He died on 20th of August 1914. The events leading up to the canonization of St Pius X began immediately with his death. He was beatified on 3rd of June 1951. And he was canonized on 29th of May 1954 by Pope XII. The Holy Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on 21st of August

The history of Saint Pius X Church

The charism of the Carmelite missionary from Belgium; Rev. Fr. Norbert Joachim triggered a new Christian community in Thekkutheri, Maruthoorkonam in the 1950s. Rev Fr. Norbert OCD was the first Parish Priest of the St. Pius X Church, Thekkutheri. He was the Parish Priest of Mangalathukonam when he thought of starting a new substation in Thekkutheri. He was moved with compassion by witnessing the effort and sacrifices of Mariyanjajam and his family members who were walking miles from Thekkutheri to Mangalathukonam to attend the Holy Mass and other parochial activities. In the beginning, a small chamber with a thatched roof of coconut palm was built in Vattavila for the purpose of prayer meetings. But the intolerance of fanatic villagers led to changing the prayer chamber from Vattavila to Valanvila. Unfortunately, the torture continued from the part of antisocial people even in Valanvila. Accordingly, the Christians decided to gather for prayer meetings in the house of Ammalu. Later, Fr. Norbert bought some land at 15 cents in Thekkutheri and with the help of local Christians such as Mariyanjanam, Thevayi, Chinna, Snehappu, Thayi, Licy, Shabarimuthan, Chellan and Nehsamani built a small chapel with a thatched roof of coconut palm. The growth of the catholic faith in Thekkutheri encouraged Fr. Norbert to buy some more land and build a better church for the local Christians. In 1955 Rev. Fr. Norbert Joachim OCD erected a new church in Thekkutheri and entrusted to the protection of the heavenly patron St. Pius X. Because of the superstitious believes, the Hindus of Maruthoorkonam didn’t allow Fr. Norbert to construct the church facing the street. To ensure drinking water, Fr. Norbert also constructed a well in the church property for the poor people of the village who were suffering from the burden of the caste system. In 1992 Rev. Fr. M. Manuel; the Parish Priest of Kidarakkuzhi renovated St. Pius X Church, Thekkutheri.
A new grotto of Mother Mary of Velankanni was blessed and opened to public devotion by Rt. Rev. Dr. Vincent Samuel, Bishop of Neyyattinkara on the golden jubilee celebration of St. Pius X Church, Thekkutheri in 2005. This grotto was sponsored by the catechist Mr. George Yagappan as a sign of gratitude for the blessings that he received from God in his life through the intercession of Mother Mary. The image of Jesus Christ which is placed on the top of the grotto was donated by the catechism teacher Mrs. Jnanamma. A new sacristy was constructed by Rev. Fr. Neppolinan Gomez; the Parish Priest of Kidarakkuzhi in the golden jubilee year. The flagpole which is situated in front of the Church was donated by Mrs. Chinnamma in 1997.
The priests who served at St. Pius X Church, Thekkutheri after Rev. Fr. Norbert OCD are; Rev. Fr. Benchamin Vas, Rev. Fr. D. Elias, Rev. Fr. Peter Xavier, Rev. Fr. Xavier Chinnappan, Rev. Fr. David Venganinna, Rev. Fr. Antony Silvester, Rev. Fr. Francis D. Silva, Rev. Fr. Augustin Dev, Rev. Fr. M. Manuel, Rev. Fr. Suresh D. Antony, Rev. Fr. Neppolian Gomez, Rev. Fr. A. S. Paul, Rev. Fr. Xavier Chirayath, Rev. Fr. Sony Narikulam, Rev. Fr. Roy Kochappally, Rev. Fr. Tibin, Rev. Fr. Joji George, Rev. Fr. Sujesh. The present Parish Priest is Rev. Fr. Georgekutty Sasseril and the Assistant Parish Priest is Rev. Fr. Renjith.
The catechists who served at St Pius X Church, Thekkutheri are; Mr. Sebastian (Kittu), Mr. Yagappan, Mr. Sathyadas, Mr. George, Mr. Mohandas, Mr. Shylendran, Mr.
Bahuleyan, Mr. Pramod, Mr. Santhosh. And the present catechist is Mr. Nessayan Yagappan.
Presently there are 50 catholic families in this small Christian community. The associations like KCYM Latin, KLCA, KLCWA, Legion of Mary, Little Way and Vincent de Paúl contribute to the spiritual, social and educational formation of the laity of the church. St. Pius X Church, Thekkutheri imparts the New Gospel to the people of Maruthoorkonam by taking inspiration from the motto of her Patron Saint St. Pius X; Instaurare omnia in Christo (To restore all things in Christ).

Our first Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Norbert of Joachim OCD

Rev. Fr. Norbert of Joachim OCD was born on 6November 1892 at Saint-Amand village, Belgium. His baptism name was Jerome Lyman. In some records his name appears as Kamillas. His parents were Victor Lyman and Leyonid Suveri. After the completion of his primary education, he entered in to the Discalced Carmelite Order at Kortrijk. On 6 April 1910 he received the habit of the Discalced Carmelite Order. He led the new monastic life in the monastery of St. Bridget. His first profession of wows was on 7 April 1911. And his final solemn profession of wows was on 7 April 1914. During the First World War, Norbert of Joachim did the obligatory military service from 1914 to 1918 to defend his country. After the completion of his priestly formation, he was ordained as a priest on 21 May 1921. Fascinated by the apostolic zeal, he left his motherland, relatives and friends and came to Kollam Mission, Kerala, India on 17August 1921. Before starting the mission work, he spent nine monthsin Carmel Hill Monastery, Trivandrum to learn the language and culture of Kerala. Soon after he was appointed as Assistant Parish Priest of Maranalloor. As an Assistant Parish Priest, he also did his mission work in Kattakkodu and in Chullimanoor. He was a passionate devotee of Mother Mary. In Neyyattinkara and in Punaloor he served the people of God with an ardent love to Jesus Christ.
Finally, he became the Parish Priest of Mangalathukonam. Then he decided to start a new substation in Thekkutheri. In 1955 he erected a new church in Thekkutheri and entrusted to the protection of the heavenly patron St. Pius X. The people of Mangalathukonam, Payattuvila and Thekkutheri still remember him as a warm-hearted Father who was always keen to help generously the poor and needy people. He liked to feed the hungry and educate the children. As he had an excellent knowledge in medicine, he also used to look after and cure the sick people. Because of the hard work, his health started to weaken in 1959. He left the mission work and took shelter in the Mount Pleasant Mission Residence, Nandancode. He celebrated his golden jubilee of his profession of wows on 1 February 1961 in the Mount Pleasant Mission Residence, Nandancode. As his health was worsened seriously, he was admitted in the hospital, Kottiyam. He fell asleep in the hands of God there on 13 May 1968. He was buried in the cemetery of Carmel Hill Monastery, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

The list of the priests that served our Church

Prayer Time