Archaeology dept stops church renovation in protective measure

Mangalore Today News Network

Kochi, Nov 17, 2017 : Renovations of a historic church near Kochi was stopped after the Archaeology department intervened, on receiving requests from an action council to protect the heritage structure.

 

Authorities at the St. Louis Catholic church in Mundamveli have said that they have stopped a move to make alterations inside the church after they received a stop memo from the State Archaeology Department.

The parish vicar, Fr Xavier Chirammel, said the church would be 150 years old next year and that some celebrations had been planned.

As part of the programmes, parish authorities had decided to bring about some changes. The attempt was to bring back the traditional look of the church’s interiors, including the altar, he said.

Fr Chirammel said the old wooden flooring and altar had been changed on an earlier occasion and concrete was used.

The attempt by parish authorities now was to use wood to restore the original look, said Fr. Chirammel. He also claimed that alterations had been made to the church in 1997 when it turned 130 years old.

However, the vicar claimed that some persons, who were not parishioners, had sent a complaint to the Archaeology Department regarding the changes that were planned.

The department, in its stop memo to parish authorities dated November 11, said that it had received a representation from the Joint Christian Council regarding the attempts that were being made to bring about alterations inside the more than 150-year-old church.

The Joint Christian Council wanted the department to step in to stop the work as the church was more than a century old and the works that were being attempted by parish authorities were not suited to the structure.

Parish authorities have been instructed to stop all works until a team from the department inspects the church.

Meanwhile, George Katticaren of the Joint Christian Council alleged that the altar of the church was being demolished to be rebuilt under the leadership of the vicar and that no one was being allowed to access the area where the works were going on.

A notice issued by the Christian Council said that the St. Louis Church was built in 1868 and that it was a remarkable structure that needed to be preserved.