Holy Family Catholic Church (Srinagar)
Church in Srinagar, India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holy Family Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church located at Maulana Azad Road, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It was established in 1896 by Msgr. Winkley MHM.[1][2][3] Before the Curia moved to Jammu on 23 December 1986, the parish served as a cathedral when the Curia was in Srinagar.[4] Holy Family Catholic Church, All Saints Church (Protestant) and St. Luke's Church (Protestant) are the three main churches for the minority Christian community in the city.[2]
| Holy Family Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
ہولی فیملی کیتھولک چرچ | |
| |
 Holy Family Catholic Church | |
| Location | Srinagar |
| Country | India |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Parish Church |
| Founded | 1896 |
| Founder | Msgr. Winkley MHM |
| Dedication | Holy Family |
| Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 200 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Jammu–Srinagar |
| Parish | Holy Family Parish |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Anil Joseph Thomas Couto |
| Bishop | Ivan Pereira |
Arson and reconstruction
The church was set on fire on 7 June 1967 by protestors demonstrating against the Arab-Israeli war.[5][6][7] During the arson, the belfry was destroyed.[5][6][7] The church was rebuilt,[7] and in 2017 a new church bell, which was donated by an Indian Christian family and made in the Indian city of Moradabad, was installed at Holy Family Catholic Church.[6] This occurred in an interfaith service, in which Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh clergymen assembled “to jointly ring the new bell for the first time in the past 50 years”.[7] The church was recently renovated two years back 2021 -22 with beautiful wooden paneling and lighting. The altar has a beautiful Last Supper sculpted out of wood.
