Indian Christianity

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA : M. M. NINAN
The organized work of evangelization in Manipur actually began with the erection of the Diocese of
Dibrugarh in 1951, with Bishop O. Marengo, sdb, as Manipur was drawn within his ecclesiastical
jurisdiction. Every year Bishop Marengo visited Manipur and pushed the work ahead with the cooperation
of the burning zeal of the laity.
The Catholic faith among the Tangkhuls, one of the first hill tribes to accept the faith, was brought by Mr.
Dominic Shomi, former pupil if St. Anthony’s School, Shillong, and Mr. George Hongrei, former student of
Don Bosco School, Guwahati. In 1952, Fr Marocchino, chaplain of the Kohima Hospital, was invited to
Hundung, a village near Ukhrul. Mr. Shomi had prepared 350 persons ready to embrace the faith. Fr.
Marocchino gave them more instructions and received them into the Church.
The best way to promote the work of evangelization, as Bishop Marengo saw it, was to have resident
priests in the area. Losing no time, he sent Fr A. Ravalico, sdb, and Fr Peter Bianchi, sdb, as the first
resident priests who reached Imphal on March 5, 1956. Initially, they lived in a rented house in Imphal.
The following year, on May 7, 1957, they acquired a new house (the present site of the “Nirmalabas”) in
the heart of the town. Towards the end of that year, Fr Felix, sdb, and Fr Venturoli, sdb, joined them in
the mission. The Church in Manipur began to take its roots gradually and firmly.
The vastness of the Lord's vineyard demanded more workers to the harvest. In 1958, Fr Joseph
Kachiramattam, the first diocesan priest to step into Manipur soil, arrived in Imphal and joined the
community of the Salesian missionaries. Later, two other diocesan priests, Fr Mathew Planthottam and
Fr Mani Parenkulangara reached Manipur in 1959 and 1961 respectively. Since then, more priests and
religious have strengthened the promotion of the evangelization work in Manipur. Among the pioneering
Women Religious Congregations, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), the Congregation of
Mother of Carmel (CMC), Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) and Sisters of the Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament (SABS) are also worth mentioning.
The Diocese of Kohima - Imphal which included the two states of Nagaland and Manipur was erected on
January 29, 1973 by Pope Paul VI, with Rt. Rev. Abraham Alangimattathil, sdb, as its first Bishop.
Bifurcating the Diocese of Kohima - Imphal, the Diocese of Imphal comprising of the entire State of
Manipur was erected by Pope John Paul II on April 21, 1980 with Rt. Rev. Joseph Mittathany, then
bishop of Tezpur, as its first Bishop. Later, on August 1, 1995 His Holiness, John Paul II, raised the
Diocese to the status of an Archdiocese with Most Rev Joseph Mittathany as the Archbishop.
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