ST. TERESA’S CHURCH, KALIMPONG AT A GLANCE

In the year 1919, the British Government opened up the 8th Mile, Kalimpong area for general public’s habitation. On 23/07/1920, they allotted to Mother Ursula SJC a plot of land at the present location of St. Joseph’s Convent. Fr. Douenel MEP, a missionary from France helped the sisters to construct St. Joseph’s Convent and the School. St. Joseph’s Convent School was formally inaugurated on 5th July 1926.

Fr. Douenel MEP became the first Chaplain of Saint Joseph’s Convent, Kalimpong. He started residing in a small hut next to the convent, and gathering Catholic folks scattered in Kalimpong. He found 10 of them who were mostly from Maria Basti and were working in Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong. He started saying “Mass” for his congregation in the Convent Chapel (known as “Capello Convent”), inside the Convent premises. Those 10 Catholic members became the founders of St. Theresa’s parish, Kalimpong.  St. Theresa’s Church not only confined to parish periphery but also became the Headquarter of Kalimpong-Sikkim Mission, giving birth to many parishes and now is donning the hat of one of the most venerated “Mother Church’s” in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling Sikkim.

The foundation stone of the present St. Theresa’s Church, 8th Mile, Kalimpong was laid on 1st October 1931

In June 1937, the MEP missionaries passed on the baton of the Kalimpong-Sikkim mission to Canon Regular priests of Switzerland, popularly known as “Swiss Fathers”. Finally In 1993, the ultimate domain of St. Theresa’s Parish passed on to the “Diocesan Priests. St. Joseph of Cluny sisters have become the extended hand of St. Theresa’s parish in evangelization, faith formation, catechizing, education, health care and services to the poor and needy, and in many more fields.

Since May 1926, Fr. Douenel MEP was the priest-in-charge of Kalimpong mission. He had purchased a plot of land from the British Government to establish a new RC Mission in Kalimpong. He constructed a presbytery on it for the MEP Fathers. Today it stands as “Pushpika Pastoral Centre”. In the beginning a room in it was spared for a Chapel for Sunday Mass and other public services and later as the faithful increased in number a separate chapel was built. Fr. Gratuze MEP, his Assistant, blessed it in October 1927. By the beginning of 1929, the Catholic Community had increased to 152 members. 

Msgr. Douenel MEP declared St. Teresa as a “full-fledged parish” in October 1929. In 1931, Pastor Gyan Tshering Sitling of the Scottish Mission, Kalimpong led his 100 folks, to join the Catholic Community. They were baptized on 1st October 1931 along with the grand inauguration of “St. Theresa’s of Child Jesus” Church, Kalimpong. Mr. Francis Gyan Tshering Sitling became the main Catechist and lay leader of St. Theresa’s parish, Kalimpong.

Mr. Leonard Molomoo of Chhibo busty became the 1st Priest from the Parish. 

Msgr. Gianora himself drew the architectural design of the new church in Gumpa Style. Its size is 84’ X 73’ and capacity is about 1000 people.  The entire structure of this magnificent church building is made up of seasoned Himalayan wood like “Salwood” and “Tuni” (local name) and C.I. sheet With the view of the structure to last for years, he was careful enough to collect quality building materials from distant places. To suit his deep sense of artistic taste, he employed local Buddhist craftsmen for the interior decorative works. They very skillfully and painstakingly carved out the various ethnic and “Biblical themes” on the main door and in the interior of the Church in Tibetan art style, which are very vivid and give testimony to their aesthetic taste and designs. This magnificent Church was blessed and inaugurated on 19th January 1951 for the public praise and worship.

St. Teresa has given birth to four sizeable new churches at “Relli Road, Pudong, Homes and Nassey Busty” at 5th Mile. It is also the Headquarter of the 16 churches of Kalimpong Deanery. Moreover, it is the proud centre of burgeoning Catholic educational hubs, pastoral and ecclesiastical centres, formation houses of priests and nuns, centre for socio-economic activities and integration, old aged home for the priests, Provincial House of Cluny Congregation for North India and Nepal and Focolare Centre. The Institutions and Centres are providing education and training to thousands of students and trainees, and employment to hundreds of families. All are within the radius of a kilo meter.