St. Michael’s church Kolapakkam: A brief history
Tamil Nadu is a state situated in the southern part of Indian sub continent with Bay of Bengal to its east and Indian ocean in the south. A cultural rich and diverse Tamil Nadu is home to vast heritage of literature, scholars and art spanning thousands of years. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, and in southern part of Chennai is Vandalur Aringar Anna Zoological park. Around 3kms behind the park is a small but vibrant Kolapakkam village. Being an agrarian community, surrounded by 5 lakes is a testament to it. It is surrounded with scenic greenery small hills which also led to mining work in this area.
Enticed by this vibrant village and friendly people, Rev. Fr. K.M Joseph of Kovalam St.Karmel Mary Parish decided to dedicate a church to this locality in the year 1967. With the help and support of Thiru.Thulasi Thatha, a generational resident of the village, Father Joseph was able to buy 4 acres of land, and build a small church out of dried palm and coconut leaves. It served as a sub station to Kovalam parish. During this time, the number of Catholic families also started to increase in this village.
In late 1960’s Kolapakkam village was struck with famine and led to devoid of basic amenities. Father Joseph took it upon himself an uphill task of helping the villagers of providing food rations with his limited resources. He also got involved in building water wells ( 2 in Anna nagar, 1 in Kolappakkam, 1 within Church premises). With this 4 wells, the community was able to reduce the stress on water scarcity to a great extend. Fr.Joseph also gave great emphasis on education, as a tool to escape poverty and oppression, conducted classes for economically weaker students in evening.
In 1972, with Father’s vision and Christ’s guidance, the old palm leaves laden church was converted into a concrete Church, enabling devotees to experience the love and presence of God on a daily basis, laying foundation for a devoted Catholic community deeply rooted in Christ’s presence. Praise be to God.
During 1980, Asst. parish priests from Kovalam parish, namely Fr.K.T Mathew, Fr. P.Charles graced with spiritual guidance to Kolapakkam Church.
In 1982, under the guidance of His Holiness Rev.Fr. Arulappa, Bishop, it was decided to elevate this Church to St.Micheal’s Church and Parish of Kolapakkam.
Interesting snippet: St.Micheal’s Church Kolapakkam is the only Church dedicated to Archangel St.Michael’s, in the whole of Chennai region.
To extend the formal education to the masses, Fr.Joseph succeeded in bringing in Sisters of Kanika matha to create a formal school within the church premises. Father also extended his educational outreach to Melakottaiyur area by constructing a school (St.Joseph school) in a land which belonged to St. Michael parish.
Fr.Joseph ensured education of children from economically weaker sections, and enabling the community to thrive on faith of God and community harmony, laying the strong foundation for generations to come.
Following is the list of Parish priests who served Kolapakkam parish hence forth:
Rev.Fr. Anthony Raj 1982-1983
Rev.Fr. Cyriac Ilimootil 1983-1988
Rev.Fr. Mathew S 1988-1993
Rev.Fr. Sebastin Koikara 1993-1996
Rev.Fr. Eucharist 1996-2002
Rev.Fr. Kanikai Raj G 2002-2006
Rev.Fr.Christian A J 2006-2011
Rev.Fr. Shylock Stephen S 2011-2016
Rev.Fr. Benjamin 2016-2022
Rev.Fr.Immanuel Raj 2022-Present