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St. Joseph's Church (Archdiocese of Banaglore)

Fr. Briand Square, Chamrajpet, Bangalore - 560 002

St. Joseph's Church is a Church located in Chamrajpet (Old name Karitimmanahalli) locality of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is the oldest church at Bangalore and the first catholic church to be built in the Bangalore city. It is famous for festivities held during the St. Joseph's Feast in the month of May each year, attracting devotees from the entire metropolitan area of Bangalore.

It is the only church in bangalore having crypt underground chapel in the city. As the Church sits in the heart of the city it is determined that the city of bangalore took its initiation around the Church. Also the old records prove that the first Jataka Stand or later the Bus stand was right infront of the Church. The Mysore road begins its journey right from the Church vicinity to Bannimantap, Mysore.

History of the Parish

St. Joseph's church began as a small church with thatched hut in the 16th century by Jesuits near the Fort, PETTA. Nevertheless, due to the struggle, war, plague, and many other in-constraints, the parish was relocated time and again. No documentation or evidences of this has been preserved. Two churches are said to have existed in the 16th century inside the fort. Bangalore's first church was Drummer's Chapel, which is a protestant church also, beside that for Catholics there was another Fort Chapel called as Bamboo Chapel dedicated to St. Joseph, which was established by Jesuit missionaries. It is said that it was located at Kalasipalya, Bamboo Bazaar near the present Hotel Guide. (This is covered in Fr. Anthappa's historical classics and the British Gazetteer). Bangalore was only a little town then, and many foreigners had sought refuge in the (PETTA) city. When Tippu Sultan arrived, the Christians were attacked; he subsequently seized power and annexed the city. The local Christians were allegedly carried to Srirangapatana by Tippu, who then demolished the churches around the fort and imprisoned them all. He took over the complete city under his control and made his supremacy.

After Tippu Sultan was killed, the Pondicherry-based French missionaries later came to Bangalore to continue their work. Mysore Mission was split from Pondicherry and became a Vicariate Apostolic in 1850. The original church in chamrajpet was built between 1851 and 1852 by a French priest, Rev. Fr. Bigot Beauclair, who took charge of Srirangapatna in 1833. He had already built churches in Ootacamund, Mysore, Harihara, and Anekal. St. Joseph's chapel was constructed when he was parish priest at St. Mary's in Blackpally (Shivajinagar). He re-built a small chapel here near Kalasipalya recounting the martyrdom of the Christians during Tippu’s era in 1850.

Founder and Re - Construction of St. Joseph's Church

Later in 1880, the founding father of St. Joseph's Institutions, one among the pioneers of Chamrajpet, well known stalwart of Bangalore, a belgian priest - Rev. Fr. Peter M. Briand (MEP), came from France. He resided here and made a vow to assist the sick, deprived, and underprivileged. He intended to own the land first because he was aware of the circumstances and the parish's problem with the displacement from the fort area.

In 1881, after returning to France, Briand asked his father for a share of the property, which he received in the form of two ships. Then he sold it and purchased land in Bangalore petta (PETTA - called Kari Timmanahalli, currently Chamarajpet).

He first constructed a school on the land where a great number of poor children could receive free education. In addition, he provided free agricultural land and built homes for everyone, regardless of caste or religion. He then built a new church in 1889 and served the parish for 46 years as a parish priest. To be said in precise the present Chamrajpet was is vission and born child. There were 600 Christian families in the area under him at that time. He also fonded a substation and gave the land near Goripalya to the local Christians who were sick and who were in utter poverty, he called it Rayapura. He founded St. Peter and Paul church and built homes for the villagers over there.

The Government of Mysore built Victoria Hospital in 1901, inside Bangalore Fort. In 1915, the government constructed Minto Eye Hospital on the same campus. In the 1920s the Mysore Government wanted to add a maternity hospital inside Bangalore Fort, and approached the priest for the borrowing of the land. With contributions from the Government of Mysore he purchased land extensively for the parish purpose. He also took the lead in purchasing plots near Uttarahalli and on Mysore Road for the purpose of Christian burials. likewise he becomes the land owner and the founder of St. Joseph's Institutions.

Works of Fr. Briand

In 1914, Fr. Briand invited five SMI religious nuns and gave them permission to build a convent next to the church. St. Mary's Hospital was built with his guidance; he also founded St. Teresa's School, St. Joseph's School, and St. Mary's Orphanage.

He has contributed to the education sector by starting a teacher training center and an industrial training center for the youth. He actively participated in the inauguration of the Kannada Sahitya Parishad in 1915 and worked for the development of the Kannada language. During the time of the plague and the onset of the influenza pandemic, Fr. Briand was elected as the City Municipal Councillor, and he played a vital role in saving many lives.

As there were many lepers and disease sufferers in this area, he wrote a letter to the state of Mysore with the hope that a big hospital should be built here. Looking at his visionary mind the Maharaja of Mysore consulted with him and took his advice to build a city market next to the church. No wonder the circle in front of St. Joseph's Church on Mysore Road and the road between the schools is named after him.

Death of Fr. Briand

Fr. Briand died on February 21, 1940; his remains were buried on the church premises with state honors. In the same year, Bangalore diocese was established as an Archdiocese.

Present Church Construction

Another ideal priest who came after his departure was Msgr. W. M. Texeira. As the population increased and there was a need for a large shrine in the heart of the city, he decided to rebuild St. Joseph's Church.

A little less than a century later on January 12, 1947, the foundation stone was laid for the present church. After him, Rev. Fr. Paul D'Souza took charge of the construction of the church, and the church was inaugurated and consecrated on May 11, 1969. Since then, every year, the annual Feast of the Church is celebrated on the same day, and people gather at large numbers to pay homage to the Mother Church.

Church Architecture

The new church is built out of dressed stone in the cruciform style. It has a rose window, two Byzantine influenced bell towers. Above the altar, in the center, sits a huge Byzantine dome. This dome is an unique building in the city that has elements of byzantine architecture.

The only church in Bangalore with an underground chapel is St. Joseph's Church, which is unique in its style and stands over a crypt. A remarkable statue of the holy family that shows St. Joseph taking his final breath can be found in the crypt. Every Wednesday of the week there are services held in honor of St Joseph.