Opened 1891 | Function Church | |
Similar Jhelum River, Hindu Kush, Taj Mahal, Humanyun Mosque | ||
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It was established in 1891, by Mill Hill Missionaries, making it the oldest Catholic church in Jammu and Kashmir, and currently belongs to the Jammu Srinagar Diocese. St. Joseph's Church, St. Joseph's Hospital and St. Joseph's School are located in the same campus. It is the only church in the town, and there are only few Christian families in the community.
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History
St. Joseph's Church was started by Mill Hill Missionaries who came from The Apostolic Prefecture of Kafirstan and Kashmir, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore. After Mill Hill Missionaries left mission it was taken care by Capuchin Fathers. Later on it was looked after by Society of Jesus and is now part of the Diocese of Jammu Srinagar. Father Jim Borst MHM, one of the well known pioneers and former Parish Priest, lives in Srinagar City.
The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 noted:
At Baramulla, in Kashmir, Father Simon, assisted by a staff of twelve lay teachers, conducts an important school for native Kashmir boys. The pupils number three hundred. The prefecture comprises about fifteen million inhabitants. Twelve million five hundred thousand of these are Mohammedans, two million are Hindoos, five hundred thousand are Buddhists and about five thousand are Catholics.
The church was affiliated to Lahore University in 1919.
Persecution of local Christians
In late October 1947, leading into the Kashmir Conflict of 1947, local tribesmen attacked the church, school, and hospital, killing the Mother Superior and Assistant Mother Sister M. Teresalina Joaquina FMM. Father Jim Borst MHM, who had worked in the area since 1963, including serving as the principal of St. Joseph's School, was given a Quit India Notice " from Kashmir's Foreigners Registration Office.