CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AT CENTURY OLD BANDEL CHURCH, CHINSURAH

By Kaushik Ghosh (TNI Chinsurah) ~ Edited By D. Prasun (TNI Siliguri)

Webdesk, TNI Chinsurah, 25^th December, 2014: The Portuguese word for Mast is “Bandel” based on which this sleepy town is known for. The Bandel Church stands as a memorial of the Portuguese settlement in Bengal. Built around 1599, it is dedicated to Nossa Senhora di Rozario, Our Lady of the Rosary. It is one of the most prominent historical churches found in West Bengal. The church, built by the Portuguese came to be known as the Bandel Church. The church, with its towering clock tower, has been modified largely over the years and nothing much remains of its past structure. Every Christmas, Bandel, about 40 km from Kolkata, comes alive with lakhs of people assembling at Bandel Church, one of the oldest churches in eastern India. The celebration at this ancient church begins at 10:30 pm with a prayer service, ‘Novena’, followed by the two-hour Midnight Mass with everybody joining in to sing hymns. The church has an in-house thirty-member choir that conducts the special prayer service. Hundreds of Christians from the neighboring towns of Srirampur and Chinsurah attend the ceremony. The church was elevated to the status of a minor Basilica in 1988 and is currently being run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Three high schools — Don Bosco, Auxilium Convent and St John’s High School — are now attached to the church. The primary attraction of the church, which is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, is the statue of Lady Bandel located in a niche close to the top of the façade. According to the localites, they have a strong belief that Lady Bandel brings good luck to people. For Christmas, the church is always decorated to depict the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in a humble stable in Bethlehem. And, thousands of visitors have been thronging the church for blessings from their beloved “Guruma”.

Picture: Kaushik Ghosh (TNI)