ST. PAUL'S PARISH, KUMARGHAT
Brief History: In the early years Fathers from Mariamnagar Parish used to frequently visit Kumarghat and later onstayed in Kumarghat Town. In 1968 they bought the land. In 1969, Fr. Thomas Louis Fortin, a Canadian Holy Cross priest was appointed as the first Parish Priest. The new Parish had 11 villages comprising of Garos, Darlongs, and Khasis. By 1975 Debbarmas, Halams, and Reangs also got baptized. In July 1971, Fr. Fortin had to leave the country due to an order from the Government and Fr. Thomas Thengumpally took over as the second Parish Priest.
When the Parish was established there were about
1,050 Catholics scattered in 21 villages from Ambassa to Dharmanagar. In 1973,
a Boys Hostel and in 1978, a Girls Hostel were started for the Bengali Medium students.
The Missionaries of Charity Sisters are running a Leprosarium, a Home for the
dying, and an Orphanage since 1982. On 5th August 1998, the Sisters
of Our Lady of Fatima began their first convent in Tripura. They took care of
the Girls in the Hostel and are also helping in the pastoral ministry.
In 2018, at the request of Bishop Lumen, the
Jesuit Fathers arrived in Tripura and were sent to work in Kailasahar
area. The pioneers are Frs. Babu Paul,
S.J. and James Morais, S.J. Initially, they stayed in Kumarghat and slowly
moved to Jamtolbari village (which is now a Parish). Today, the Parish has 15
villages under its care.
Institutions:
Brief History:
On 1st July 2007, when Fr. Thomas Pereira was installed as the Parish
Priest of Kumarghat, he made a big breakthrough by opening an English Medium School
in the Ruby Jubilee Year of the Parish. The School started on 4th
February 2008, with 48 students from KG I to Class I, in the existing building
opposite to Fathers’ residence. In the same month the foundation was laid for
the School and the new building started functioning from 27th
January 2009. The building has 25 Classrooms and other facilities like
computer, lab, library, and sports.
