Breif Sketches of the History
Short History
Moodubelle Parish, also known as Belle or Boliye, was originally part of Shirva Parish. In 1888, Fr Gregory Anthony Menezes constructed the first chapel at Belle on government land obtained with the assistance of the Catholic Tahsildar of Udupi. In the early years, Holy Mass was celebrated in private homes, especially at the residence of Mr Rocky Aranha.
Responding to growing pastoral needs and guided by farsighted leadership, the Lower Church (Padroado) and Upper Church (Propaganda) of Shirva were amalgamated on 15 September 1910. As part of this reorganization, 340 families were ceded to form a new parish at Belle. On 02 November 1910, the chapel was officially raised to the status of a parish and dedicated to St Lawrence, with Fr Casmir Fernandes appointed as the first Parish Priest.
Key Milestones (Significant Years)
1888 – First chapel constructed at Belle
1910 (15 Sept) – Shirva churches amalgamated; Belle Parish formed
1910 (02 Nov) – Chapel raised to Parish; Fr Casmir Fernandes appointed
1918 – Church and presbytery blessed by Bishop Paul Perini, SJ
1932–1938 – Kanajar chapel built; later became the first parish carved out of Belle
1944 – Silver Jubilee of the church building celebrated
1951 – Secular Order of St Francis (Tertiary Order) introduced
1959 – St Lawrence High School established
1964 – Bethany Sisters opened Loretto Convent
1981 – St Lawrence PU College started
1990 – Parish journal Suvaad launched
1997–2003 – Small Christian Community (SCC) system introduced; Kuntalnagar became an independent parish
2005 – Magnificent new church inaugurated
2010 – Centenary of Belle Parish celebrated
2012 – St Lawrence Degree College inaugurated
2016–2018 – St Lawrence Community Hall constructed
2021 Sanctuary beautification completed
2021 New parking area constructed for school buses
2021 Cemetery renovation – Sector A
2022 Washrooms constructed for the Community Hall
2024 Dining area developed for St Lawrence Hall
2024–2025 Presbytery renovation completed
2025 Arecanut drying yard constructed
2025–2026 Construction of commercial shops initiated to make the parish financially self-reliant
2026 Extension of church premises and complete asphalting of the campus
2026 New public washrooms constructed within the church campus
Deatiled history
The St Lawrence Church, Moodubelle, is situated at a distance of 65 kms to the north-east of Mangalore, 7 kms from Shirva and 14 kms from Udupi, and is surrounded by Pamboor, Shirva, Kanajar, Manipal and Kuntalnagar Parishes.
The Moodubelle Parish, also known as Belle, was once a part of Shirva Parish and has been popularly known as Boliye Parish. With the help of the Catholic Thasildar of Udupi, Fr Gregory Anthony Menezes of Shirva succeeded in obtaining 6 acres of the government land. He used to offer Mass and reside at the house of Mr Rocky Aranha whenever he visited Belle to offer Mass or meet the spiritual needs of the people. He constructed a chapel at Belle in 1888.
In Shirva, there were two churches-one dedicated to Our Lady of Health (Saud Saibin), also known as the Lower Church, and the other dedicated to St Francis Xavier, also known as the Upper Church. The lower church followed the Padroado system and was under the influence of the Goan authority, whereas the Upper Church adopted the Propaganda system and was under the authority of the Vatican through the Bishop of Verapoly.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Fr Gregory Antony Menezes was the Parish Priest of Our Lady of Health Church and Fr Casmir Fernandes was the Parish Priest of St Francis Xavier Church. It was chiefly due to the far-sightedness of both the priests that the two churches of Shirva were amalgamated into one on 15 September 1910. They ceded 340 families to form the new church at Belle also known as Moodubelle. The chapel was raised to the status of a parish church on 02 November 1910 and Fr Casmir Fernandes (1910-1935) was appointed as the first Parish Priest of St Lawrence Church, Belle. He built the presbytery and the new church, which were blessed on 31 December 1918 by the Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Paul Perini, SJ.
Although the church building dominated the landscape of Belle, there were no other facilities that were available for the people. Gradually, it was due to the efforts of Fr Casmir Fernandes that Belle developed as a town. Even before the construction of the church building in 1913, the primary school that was conducted by Mr Dasapayya (grandfather of B Sadananda Rao) was transferred to the Belle Parish so that it could be managed in a better way. Mr Dasapayya continued as its headmaster till 1919. Thereafter, Mr Salvador Barboza who was sacristan in the church became the headmaster of the primary school for a few years.
Realising the need of the people of the village, Fr Casmir took efforts to introduce a weekly market to be held on every Tuesday that led to the growth of the present ‘Santhe-katte’, a post office and petty shops to sell various provisions needed by the people on a day-to-day basis. As there was no transport facility, Fr Casmir Fernandes took the initiative to lay the road that eventually connected Karkala and Udupi through Belle.
As the health of Fr Casmir Fernandes, due to enormous amount of work, began to deteriorate, on 14 April 1931, Fr William Lewis was sent as the first Assistant Priest to Belle. He was instrumental in starting the Altar Servers’ and Men’s Sodalities in Belle. Realizing the difficulties faced by the people of Bailoor, Kanajar, Palli and Ninjoor to attend Mass on Sundays and other important days and fulfil their other spiritual needs on account of the great distance from these regions to Belle, Fr William Lewis acquired a plot of land and built a chapel in 1932 at Kanajar. On 28 May 1938, Kanajar was raised to the status of an independent parish and Fr William Lewis was sent there as the first Parish Priest. Thus, Kanajar became the first parish to be carved out of the Belle Parish.
After a quarter of a century’s dedicated service, during which he not only constructed the church building but also nurtured a strong parish community, Fr Casmir Fernandes was transferred to Udyavar in 1935. After retirement, Fr Casmir Fernandes stayed in the Retired Priests’ Home at Kankanady, Mangalore.
Following the transfer of Fr Casmir Fernandes from Belle as the Parish Priest of Udyavar, Fr Alphonse Maria Liguory D’Souza arrived as the second Parish Priest of Belle. Fr Liguory D’Souza had the reputation of being a famous and effective preacher. His powerful sermons were attentively heard by the people. Fr Liguory made arrangements for bringing the mortal remains of Late Fr Gregory Anthony Menezes, the former Parish Priest of the Lower Church of Shirva, who had started the first chapel at Belle, in a grand procession and were interred inside the church at Belle in front of the eastern side altar.
It was during the tenure of Fr Liguory as the Parish Priest that a number of developments took place in the infra-structure of the church. In 1943, he got the church floor fixed with brick-tiles; provided galleries for the communion at the edge of the main platform of the altar; renovated the main altar and the tower of the church; constructed a separate room for the Baptismal font; and built the stone compound-wall for the cemetery and provided it with a gate.
The Silver Jubilee of the construction of the church building was celebrated during the tenure of Fr Liguory for a week from 02 January 1944. The Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Victor R. Fernandes, offered the Mass. Fr Liguory worked alone, without an assistant priest for six years. He even taught for some time in the school and became quite popular among the people of Belle.
Following the transfer of Fr Liguory D’Souza to Hospet on 03 June 1945, till a new parish priest arrived the spiritual needs of the Belle parishioners were taken care of temporarily by the Parish Priest of Shankerapura (Pangala), Fr Basil S. Peres, who later became the Bishop of Mangalore.
On 11 June 1945, Fr Jerome Pinto came to Belle as the third Parish Priest. He got the well in front of the kitchen dug; laid tiles on the floor of the church; extended the front portion of the residence of the priests as portico; and erected the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the northern end of the church compound.
In order to enhance the spiritual life of the parishioners, Fr Jerome started the Secular Order of St Francis of Assisi, also known as the Tertiary Order, in 1951. In 1954, Fr Casmir Fernandes, who was staying at the Retired Priests’ Home at Kankanady, was invited to Belle and the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood was celebrated in a befitting manner. After the death of Fr Casmir Fernandes on 18 May 1955, his body was brought to Belle on 19 May 1955 and was interred inside the church in front of the main altar
After 12 years of service as the Parish Priest of Belle, Fr Jerome Pinto was transferred to Ferar in April 1957. Fr Abundius D’Souza took charge as the fourth Parish Priest of Belle on 21 April 1957. He was a soft-spoken and quiet-natured person, and was known for his spirituality and dedication. He introduced a number of innovations, both spiritual and material, in the Belle Parish. He rebuilt the top portion of the facade of the church which was damaged due to lightning which struck on 21 October 1957. He also renovated the portico of the church.
Realizing the need to have a bank in Belle, Fr Abundius took the initiative to open a branch of the Pangala Nayak Bank. As the parish community was growing with additional families, Fr Abundius increased the number of wards from nine to fifteen.
However, the name of Fr Abundius has been immortalized in the history of Belle due to the fact that it was he who realised the importance of education and understood the problems faced by the young children of Belle who had to travel to far-off places for high school education. The school- going children had to face a number of difficulties while travelling to these places as they had to cross the rivers which was quite dangerous during the rainy season.
The attempt of Fr Abundius to start a high school in Belle was upheld by the community leaders, irrespective of their religion. Among those who were present at the meeting, Mr Francis D’Souza (Sila Soz) of Kodangala promised a donation of one thousand rupees that gave momentum to the process of having a high school in Belle.
Thus, against all odds, Fr Abundius succeeded in establishing the high school named after the patron saint of the parish, St Lawrence. The St Lawrence High School started functioning from 02 June 1959 with Mr Denis D’Silva as the first headmaster. The first batch of the high school was inaugurated in the presence of the Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr Raymond D’Mello, Mr Denis Pinto, MLA and Mr T. A. Pai. For ten days, from 19 November 1960, Belle witnessed a series of celebrations such as the inauguration of the new building of St Lawrence High School, the Golden Jubilee of the foundation of the Belle Parish and the Silver Jubilee of the ordination of Fr Abundius D’Souza. The Auxiliary Bishop of Mysore, Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza inaugurated these celebrations.
Fr Abundius could not rest on the laurels of the establishment of the high school. There remained a lot of other work to be completed, such as levelling the hill in front of the high school building, and preparing a play ground for the high school students. Once again, with the help of voluntary labour of the parishioners, considerable amount of the hill was flattened.
Meanwhile, Fr Abundius invited the Bethany Sisters to come to Belle and assist in the pastoral and educational activities of the parish. The Bethany Sisters accepted the invitation and opened their house named the Loretto Convent at Belle on 31 May 1964. Other important infra-structural work undertaken by Fr Abundius included erecting a gate in front of the church compound, replacing the old, dilapidated structure of the higher primary school with a new building comprising seven classrooms, and electrification of the church and residence of the priests.
Fr Abundius has been known as the priest who encouraged a large number of young men and women to join religious life. During his tenure as the Parish Priest, not only a large number of vocations for the religious life can be traced but also a large number of priests offered their First Masses following their ordination. In April 1960, the Bishop of Kuwait, Most Rev. Dr Stellan visited the Belle Parish and gave a generous donation of Rs 6,000 to the high school building. It was during the tenure of Fr Abundius, Mr Salvador Barboza, who had rendered service in the church as a sacristan since the inception of the parish, retired. Another prominent person who devoted a lot of time to the service of the parish in various capacities was Mr Immanuel D’Souza, popularly known as ‘Monnu Master’.
As the parishioners from Pamboor found it difficult to attend religious services and Sunday Masses and fulfil other spiritual needs, they were provided a separate church which was eventually raised into an independent parish at Pamboor.
After rendering long service to the parishioners of Belle and making a mark as a hardworking, devout and forward-looking priest, Fr Abundius was transferred to Kirem on 15 May 1968.
Fr Valerian G.F. Rego was the fifth Parish Priest of Belle who took charge on 16 May 1969. He was the first Parish Priest who had to shoulder multiple responsibilities. He was not only the Parish Priest, but also the Headmaster of St Lawrence High School as well as the Correspondent of both the Church Aided Higher Primary School and St Lawrence High School. On 14 April 1972, Fr Rego celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his priesthood and, in commemoration of this event, donated the new altar to offer the Mass.
Realizing the difficulties that the poor children faced while getting themselves educated, Fr Rego constituted a fund for helping the needy students. In order to provide additional classrooms to the higher primary school, he extended the building with three classrooms. He gave up the practice of voluntary labour (sarthi) for clearing the remaining part of the hillock in front of the high school building and hired a bulldozer to do the job. He also laid the foundation for a hall for the high school students.
Following the transfer of Fr V.G.F. Rego to Thottam on 21 May 1976, Fr Alexander Lobo, a young and dynamic priest, arrived in Belle as the new Parish Priest. Like his predecessor, he also had to share the responsibilities as the Parish Priest, Headmaster and the Correspondent. It was during his tenure that the high school acquired the permanent recognition from the Education Department.
If Fr Abundius D’Souza has been remembered for starting the high school at Belle, Fr Alexander Lobo has been considered as the pioneer who initiated the Junior College. In 1981, Fr Alexander started St Lawrence Pre-University College with 60 students. He raised the building of the hall on the foundation that had already been laid by Fr V.G.F Rego earlier. He also provided a spacious office and staff room to the Church Aided Higher Primary School.
In order to improve the results of the SSLC, Fr Lobo devised a method by which the students, who wanted to concentrate on studies, were encouraged to stay in the school during the night and they were provided food and other facilities. Fr Alexander kept a constant vigil on the students and helped them in overcoming their difficulties. This innovation worked well and the SSLC results began to improve appreciably.
In the social field also, Fr Alexander made a mark by his dedicated work. In order to help the alcoholics to kick off their habit, he started the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in the parish. After completing seven years as the Parish Priest and the Principal, though he knew that he was likely to be transferred soon, he visited the Gulf countries on a fund-raising mission and succeeded in raising Rs 85,000 for St Lawrence PU College.
Fr Alexander did a lot of work for the material progress in various ways. He got a well dug with abundant water near the church and carried on the coconut plantation. He also got another well dug in the church property at Mattar and promoted horticulture at that place. In order to help the poor parishioners, he established St Vincent De Paul Society on 20 October 1978. He also established a fund for helping the girls from poor families to get married. He started a project to provide houses for the needy. On the land donated by Mr Albert Sequeira of Kanaradi, he got a well sunk and constructed three tile-roofed houses for the poor families. He also worked towards getting financial assistance to the poor families through his contacts with foreign philanthropists. After seven years of dedicated service in Belle, Fr Alexander Lobo was transferred to the Rosario High School, Mangalore as Headmaster on 20 May 1983.
Fr Harold Menezes arrived at Belle as the seventh Parish Priest on 21 May 1983. Having experience in various fields, he has been known as a priest of ‘devotion and discipline’. He was able to win over the hearts of the parishioners and helped the spiritual and material growth of the parish.
Following the transfer of Fr Alexander Lobo as the Headmaster of the Rosario High School, Mangalore, there was a need of a principal to manage St Lawrence Composite PU College. Fr Marian Pinto occupied that position. During the tenure of Fr Harold Menezes as the Correspondent and Fr Marian Pinto as the Principal, the Silver Jubilee of the establishment of St Lawrence High School was celebrated with great enthusiasm. On this occasion, the foundation stone for the new building for the Junior College was blessed by the Vicar General of the Mangalore Diocese, Rev. Fr Alexander D’Souza. The Platinum Jubilee of the foundation of the Belle Parish was also celebrated in a grand manner.
Fr Harold Menezes repaired the parochial house, constructed a new bell tower and used the tower to support the water tank so that the High School-PU College complex could get drinking water. He also celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of the Church Aided Higher Primary School and in its memory, constructed a new auditorium. It was during his tenure that the quarterly parish journal Suvaad was published. On 02 June 1990, Fr Harold Menezes was transferred to the Derebail Parish.
Fr John Joseph Saldanha came to Belle as the eighth Parish Priest on 01 June 1990. Always smiling, amiable and down-toearth, Fr J. J. Saldanha endeared himself to the people of Belle. He was chiefly responsible for opening the branch of the Syndicate Bank near St Lawrence Composite PU College. He also built a hall on the first floor of the PU College. After serving for seven years, Fr J. J. Saldanha was transferred to Kinnigoli on 21 May 1997.
On 22 May 1997, Fr Charles Lewis took charge as the ninth Parish Priest of Belle. It was during his tenure that the multipurpose parish hall was constructed near the church. Realizing the need of the time, he started St Lawrence English Medium School. As the presbytery had become too old, he demolished the old structure and constructed a new one in its place.
Fr Charles worked hard to build the parish community from the grass-roots. He introduced the concept of the Small Christian Community (SCC) at the ward level. He upgraded the small chapel at Kuntalnagar into a church so that the parishioners of that area could have a place of worship near their residences. Later, he was appointed as the first Parish Priest of Kuntalnagar from 16 May 2003. During this period, Fr Paul Sequeira took charge of St Lawrence PU College as the Principal.
A new era in the history of St Lawrence Parish, Belle, began to unfold with the arrival of Fr Valerian D’Souza as the tenth Parish Priest on 14 May 2003. The fact that he had earlier served Belle Parish as an Assistant Priest 38 years ago made him a familiar face, especially with the older generation of the parish. He had come to Belle with a lot of experience being the Episcopal Vicar of Udupi, Kallianpur and Kundapur Deaneries. He was sent to Belle by the Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza with a mission to build a new church, as the existing church building had become quite old and dilapidated. Besides the construction of the magnificent new church building, the list of the infrastructural works that were undertaken by him is quite impressive.
Fr Valerian D’Souza improved the connecting road between the church and St Lawrence Composite PU College by providing cement drainage on both sides of the road and raising and asphalting of the road. He got the ground around the church levelled and built compound wall around it. On the levelled land to the western side of the church, a beautiful coconut and banana orchard was developed.
The crowning glory of Fr Valerian D’Souza’s tenure as the Parish Priest of Belle was the construction of the spacious and magnificent new church building. Prior to the construction of the new church building, the structure of the old church was pulled down with the assistance of the parishioners and the construction of the new church began with earnestness. Parishioners of Belle, within India and abroad, generously donated a considerable amount of money for the construction of the new church building whose cost was over one crore rupees.
Meanwhile, Fr Valerian D’Souza undertook the construction of a separate nine class-room building for St Lawrence English Medium School at a cost of Rs 35 lakh. The foundation stone for the new school building was laid by Mr Simon Noronha of Thirlapalke, who was a prominent entrepreneur in Dubai. The new school building was inaugurated and blessed by Most Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza on 10 August 2005. Simultaneously, the construction of the new church building was in progress which took two years to complete.
Besides constructing the new church, Fr Valerian D’Souza provided a vast space around the church by carving out a considerable portion of the Cross Hill. He also built the Shrine in honour of St Lawrence within the church compound sponsored by Mrs Flavia and Mr Benedict Martis of Kattingeri in the name of their children-Bradley and Brenda.
The inauguration of the newly-built church had started with the Confraternity Sunday and ‘hore kanike’ (vojim). People from Shirva, Pamboor, Kanajar, Kuntalnagar and all the 22 wards of the Belle Parish and even non-Catholic brethren whole- heartedly participated in the grand procession on 29 December 2005. The ceremony for the blessing and inauguration of the new church building was attended by a large number of parishioners and people from neighbouring parishes. Five Bishops-Most Rev. Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr Robert Miranda, Bishop of Gulbarga, who had earlier served as Assistant Priest of Belle, Most Rev. Dr Gerald Lobo, Bishop of Shimoga, Most Rev. Dr Salvadore Lobo of Mattar Belle,Bishop of Baruipur in West Bengal and Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza of Kattingeri Belle, Archbishop of Agra, were present for the inaugural ceremony
The main entrance tower in front of the church compound was inaugurated by Most Rev. Dr Salvadore Lobo; the Shrine of St Lawrence was inaugurated by Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza; the main church building was inaugurated by Most Rev. Dr Robert Miranda, and the church building was blessed by Most Rev. Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza
As the residence of the priests was too small, Fr Valerian D’Souza took initiative to construct a spacious parochial house. His other building activities included the construction of the ground floor of the English Medium High School.
As the Correspondent of St Lawrence Group of Educational Institutions, Fr Valerian provided a separate and well-equipped Principal’s office in St Lawrence Composite PU College, water taps for washing hands and plates before and after the mid day meal for the students, and a cycle-shed. During the Silver Jubilee of St Lawrence Composite PU College, he provided other infrastructural facilities such as a better staff room for the Pre-University lecturers and a resting room for lady teachers. He also got the office of the College-High School renovated, extended the compound wall till the playground and gave a face-lift to the main Pre-University College building.
Realizing the importance of the computer-education to the students in modern times, he provided computers for the newly set up computer laboratory in the Pre- University College. During his tenure as the Correspondent, the Science Section of the PreUniversity College was started in 2008 as a memorial of the Silver Jubilee of the Pre-University College. For the future development of the institution, he purchased 1.35-acre land towards the west of the high school building to be used for sports facilities.
Acknowledging his valuable service to the Belle Parish, the ever-grateful people of the village celebrated the 75th birthday of Fr Valerian D’Souza on a grand scale on 15 October 2007. This solemn occasion was graced by four Bishops, 134 priests, around 50 nuns and around 2,200 people. Although he was to retire after completing 75 years of age, he was asked to continue in Belle till the arrival of the next Parish Priest, Fr Joswey Fernandes in June 2008. After his retirement, Fr Valerian went to reside in the Senior Priests’ Home at Jeppu in Mangalore.
Fr Joswey Fernandes took charge of the parish on 02 June 2008. He came to the parish with a vast experience after working in St Lawrence Church, Attur-Karkala where he constructed the new church building and the beautiful facade of the church. Later he worked at Niddodi before coming to Belle.
Soon after taking charge of the Belle Parish, Fr Joswey got the new church-bell inaugurated through the previous Parish Priest, Fr Valerian D’Souza on 15 June 2008. In order to save space, he got the KG classes of the English Medium School transferred to the old parochial house in July 2008.
Fr Joswey was keen to see that the parishioners actively took part in the liturgical services and for the first time, made arrangements to distribute the readings and other aspects of the liturgy to all the wards of the parish during the titular feast of St Lawrence on 10 August 2008, and during Saturday and Sunday Masses.
With the intention of building a strong parish community from the grass-root level, Fr Joswey made it a point to attend meetings of the Small Christian Communities (SCC) in different wards and began to register the correct information of each of the families in the ward. In order to provide an opportunity for the students to have proper foundation in the English language, he organized the English-Speaking Course between 13 to 18 of October 2008. On the Children’s Day on 14 November 2008, he inaugurated the Kids’ Park in the Church premises.
With a view to collect maximum amount of contribution from the parishioners for the Mission Sunday, Fr Joswey initiated the practice of auctioning various items donated by the parishioners for this purpose. On the occasion of the All Souls’ Day on 02 November, he started the practice of cleaning the cemetery and decorating the graves with flowers and candles, and blessing and praying in the cemetery along with the family members.
One of the significant events, that was undertaken by Fr Joswey as the Correspondent of the educational institutions of the parish was the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of St Lawrence High School in association with Fr Paul Sequeira, Principal of St Lawrence Composite PU College, on three days28, 29 and 30 of December 2009.
As the Belle Parish was to complete 100 years of its existence, on 02 November 2010, the year-long centenary celebrations were inaugurated during the annual parish feast day on 06 January 2010. With the ideal of ‘building a united parish community’, Fr Joswey initiated the ambitious programme of the journey of St Lawrence through each of the 22 wards, the statue remaining in each ward for a week, during which it was taken to each and every house where prayers were recited and hymns were sung. Masses for the sick and elderly in each ward were offered on a particular day. The visit of St Lawrence in each ward culminated with the ‘Ward Day’ celebration where the ward members manifested their unity and cooperation through prayers, entertainment programmes, games and community meal. The entire programme of the visit of St Lawrence to all the 22 wards that had started from mid-February continued till the end of July 2010.
As a part of the Centenary celebration, the Cross Hill was given a new shape with flat surface on the top so that more people could be accommodated during various occasions such as Vespers on the eve of the annual parish feast, Palm Sunday and the blessing of new paddy on the feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary on 08 September every year.
On 01 November 2010, the Parish Day was celebrated with a solemn Thanksgiving Mass offered by Fr Valerian D’Souza as the chief celebrant. Following the Mass, in a brief stage programme three couples who had completed 60 or more years of their married life were honoured. Similarly, the past vice presidents and secretaries of the Parish Pastoral Council, those Gurkars who had served their wards for more than ten years were also felicitated.
One of the boldest steps taken by Fr Joswey in the field of higher education was the starting of St Lawrence Degree College in 2012. In order to provide an opportunity to the students of St Lawrence PU College to pursue degree education at Belle, it was proposed to start a degree college. After completing the preliminary preparations and obtaining the permission from the Mangalore University and the Karnataka Government, St Lawrence Degree College was inaugurated in the improvised premises of the higher primary school building on 16 June 2012 by Fr Wilson D’Souza, Secretary of the Catholic Board of Education (CBE). There were 55 students for B.Com. and B.A., classes. Dr Eugene D’Souza, who had retired as the Principal of one of the colleges in Mumbai, was appointed as the first Principal of St Lawrence Degree College and Commodore Jerome Castelino was designated as the Dean of the college.
The St Lawrence Degree College continued for four years with two batches of B.Com., classes and one batch of B. A. class appearing for the final examination. Dr Eugene D’Souza was succeeded by Mrs Sarita Alva as the Principal till the end of the College in 2016. As most of the students preferred to go to wellestablished colleges in cities, eventually, there was decline in the admissions. Hence, the college had to be closed down. During these four years, Fr Joswey managed to provide funds to run the college.
The St Lawrence Degree College continued for four years with two batches of B.Com., classes and one batch of B. A. class appearing for the final examination. Dr Eugene D’Souza was succeeded by Mrs Sarita Alva as the Principal till the end of the College in 2016. As most of the students preferred to go to wellestablished colleges in cities, eventually, there was decline in the admissions. Hence, the college had to be closed down. During these four years, Fr Joswey managed to provide funds to run the college.
On 11 February 2012, during the post-Centenary Silver Jubilee of the Diocese of Mangalore, two families of the Belle ParishMr Bernard D’Souza, St Francis Xavier I Ward and Mr Augustine Lobo, Holy Family Ward were honoured for having more than 5 vocations in their families. On 15 March 2013, Deacon Mahesh D’Souza was ordained priest by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo. He was the first priest to be ordained in the newly-established Diocese of Udupi. Meanwhile, on 01 May 2013, Fr Paul Sequeira, Principal of the St Lawrence PU College, celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his priesthood.
The other achievements during the tenure of Fr Joswey included the construction of the commercial complex on the church land facing the main road and providing the office space to the Karnataka Bank, Kattingeri-Moodubelle branch which was inaugurated on 07 October 2013; conducting of a State Level NSS Camp for girls at the St Lawrence PU College in November 2013; the Centenary celebration of the Belle Church Aided Higher Primary School on 29 and 30 December 2013; celebration of the Silver Jubilee by the Catholic Sabha on 21 March 2014; starting of the first Self Help Groups(SHG) for women under the guidance of Fr Reginald Pinto, Director of Sampada, on 03 September 2014; inauguration and blessing of the newly-built Grotto on 08 September 2014 – the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Monthi Festh); and celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Loretto Convent of the Bethany Sisters on 31 January 2015.
Following the transfer of Fr Joswey Fernandes to Christ the King Church, Karkala Town on 17 May 2015, Fr Clement Mascarenhas arrived as the new Parish Priest to Belle on 19 May 2015.
15. It was a matter of great honour to Belle parishioners when Miss Hazel Martis was elected as the representative and regional president of the YSM and the YCS for Karnataka on 26 July 2015. In the same year on 02 August 2015, Fr Charles Menezes of Belle Parish was appointed as the International Chaplain for the YCS. Fr Paul Sequeira, who was the Principal of St Lawrence PU College for 13 years, was given a warm farewell on his transfer to Moodubidri on 30 August 2015.
The tradition of collecting the maximum amount for the Mission Sunday was continued under the leadership of Fr Clement. Besides auctioning the articles donated by the parishioners on the Mission Sunday, Fr Clement, with the support of the Sthree Sanghatan, kept food stalls on Saturdays and Sundays at least three months in advance of the Mission Sunday. The total amount collected for the Mission Sunday on 18 October 2015 was Rs 5,38,410; Rs. 8,35,700 in 2016; and Rs 10,73,270 in 2019, till then the highest amount in the Diocese of Udupi.
One of the first major infrastructural works that was undertaken by Fr Clement was the renovation and extension of the existing cemetery with the government grant and donations from the parishioners The renovation work commenced on 02 November 2015 under the supervision of the Civil Engineer, Mr Elias D’Souza. The renovated cemetery was inaugurated by Mr Vinay Kumar Sorake, MLA of the Kaup Constituency, and was blessed by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo on 02 November 2016.
The second major and most significant achievement of Fr Clement was the construction of a new parish hall with all modern amenities. The construction work commenced on 27 June 2016. Mr Elias D’Souza supervised the entire work. When the project was completed in November 2018, its cost was around six crore rupees which was collected from the parishioners and friends, students and well-wishers of Fr Clement Mascarenhas.
The newly-constructed St Lawrence Community Hall, along with another medium-sized hall in the basement, was inaugurated on 02 December 2018. Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi and Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza, Archbishop of Agra and native of Moodubelle, blessed the auditorium in the presence of a large number of priests, religious and parishioners of Moodubelle. Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo celebrated the Holy Eucharist along with Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza, Fr Clement Mascarenhas, Fr Valerian Mendonca, Fr Denis D’Sa and other deanery and guest priests
Soon after the Mass, Most Rev. Dr Albert D’Souza and Most Rev. Dr Gerald Lobo inaugurated the Community Hall by cutting the ribbon.
Deacon Roy Lobo of Belle parish was ordained priest by Most. Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi, on 06 May 2017.
On his wish prior to his death, the funeral of Fr Denis Castelino, a native of Belle, was conducted in the Belle Church and his mortal remains were buried in the cemetery on 04 February 2019, the first priest to have been buried among the fellow parishioners.
A new Tabernacle gifted by Mr Alphonse-Violet Aranha of St Isidore Ward was blessed by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo on 13 October 2019. Deacon Ivan Martis of Belle was ordained priest by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo on 12 November 2019. The Diamond Jubilee of St Lawrence Kannada Medium High School was celebrated on 20 December 2019.
As a suitable person was not available to head St Lawrence English Medium High School, Fr Clement Mascarenhas had to take the twin responsibility as the Parish Priest and as the Principal of the English Medium School from June 2019 till 31 January 2020. From 01 February 2020, Br Philip Noronha (Holy Cross) took charge as the Headmaster of St Lawrence English Medium School.
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic various activities, both religious and socio-cultural, were suspended from 22 March 2020. With the easing of the lockdown conditions, Fr Clement undertook the task of beautifying the sanctuary wall with painting, depicting the scenes from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The project was undertaken by Mr Wilson D’Souza, Kayyar. The entire project was sponsored by Commodore Jerome Castelino, costing around Rs 7.5 lakh. The newly painted sanctuary was inaugurated and blessed on 07 February 2021. Fr Clement celebrated his Ruby Jubilee of priesthood (1981-2021) on 22 April 2021.
Another great achievement of Fr Clement was the cashew plantation at the parish-owned land at Mattar and arecanut plantation on the levelled land behind the church and surrounding the community hall. Being a good musician, Fr Clement trained the church choir. He also provided opportunities to the youth to present their voices in many of the recordings of Devotional Music CDs which he had composed along with Fr Valerian Mendonca.
On completion of his term as the Parish Priest of Belle, Fr Clement Mascarenhas was transferred to the Christ the King Church, Karkala Town. He was succeeded by Fr George D’Souza as the new Parish Priest of Belle on 07 July 2021.
Our Patron
Our Patron
Saint Lawrence stands as a luminous example of service, courage, and compassion for our parish community. Remembered as a deacon of the Church who treasured the poor above all else, his life and witness call us to practical charity, fearless faith, and joyful generosity. The following account is written for our parish website to introduce parishioners and visitors to the man we honor as our patron.
Early Life and Calling
Saint Lawrence was born in the early third century, traditionally believed to be of Spanish origin. From a young age he was drawn to the Christian community in Rome, where he came to serve the Church in a practical and pastoral role. He was appointed one of the seven deacons of Rome, a ministry entrusted with the care of the Church’s material goods and the distribution of alms to the needy. In this office Lawrence found his vocation: to make the Church’s mercy visible to the poor and to treat the vulnerable as the living treasure of the Christian community.
Ministry as Deacon
As a deacon, Lawrence combined administrative skill with deep pastoral concern. He organized relief for widows, orphans, and the sick, and he oversaw the distribution of food, clothing, and shelter. His contemporaries remembered him not for ostentation but for a steady, humble devotion to those on the margins. Lawrence’s ministry shows that service to the poor is not an optional extra for Christians but a central expression of the Gospel. He taught by example that the Church’s wealth is measured not by gold or buildings but by how it cares for the least among us.
Witness and Martyrdom
In 258 AD, during a period of persecution under Emperor Valerian, members of the Roman clergy were arrested. Pope Sixtus II was executed, and Lawrence was summoned because of his role in managing the Church’s goods. Tradition holds that when ordered to hand over the Church’s treasures, Lawrence presented the poor, declaring them the true riches of the Church. For this bold witness he was condemned to death. The ancient accounts tell of his martyrdom and the image of Lawrence with a gridiron became a lasting symbol in Christian art and devotion. His steadfastness in the face of suffering has inspired generations to remain faithful even under trial.
Legacy and Patronage
Saint Lawrence’s feast day is celebrated on 10 August, a day when communities around the world remember his life of service. He is venerated as the patron saint of deacons, a model for those who serve in ministry and administration. Over time he has also become associated with cooks, librarians, and firefighters—groups linked to aspects of his life, duties, or the manner of his martyrdom. Beyond these patronages, Lawrence’s enduring legacy is his clear teaching: the Church’s true treasure is its care for the poor. Churches, schools, and charitable organizations invoke his name as they commit to works of mercy and social outreach.
Relevance for Our Parish
As our patron, Saint Lawrence invites our parish to a faith that is active and outward-looking. His example challenges us to:
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- Prioritize the poor in our parish planning and outreach.
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- Value practical charity as a core expression of worship.
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- Encourage service among young and old, forming deacons, volunteers, and lay ministers who mirror his compassion.
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- Stand with courage for justice and human dignity when our neighbors are threatened or neglected.
Honoring Saint Lawrence means more than commemorating a historical figure; it means shaping parish life around hospitality, stewardship, and sacrificial love.
Closing Reflection
Saint Lawrence’s life is a simple, powerful reminder that holiness is lived in service. As we celebrate him as our patron, let us renew our commitment to the poor, to faithful stewardship, and to courageous witness. In doing so we honor his memory and make his spirit present in our parish life.
Parish Priests of St Lawrence Church, Moodubelle
Fr Casmir Fernandes (1910–1935)
Fr Alphonse M. Liguory D’Souza (1935–1945)
Fr Jerome Pinto (1945–1957)
Fr Abundius D’Souza (1957–1968)
Fr Valerian G. F. Rego (1968–1976)
Fr Alexander Lobo (1976–1983)
Fr Harold Menezes (1983–1990)
Fr John Joseph Saldanha (1990–1997)
Fr Charles Lewis (1997–2003)
Fr Valerian D’Souza (2003–2008)
Fr Joswey Fernandes (2008–2015)
Fr Clement Mascarenhas (2015–2021)
Fr George D’Souza (2021–Present)