About the Parish

Fermai, a village situated about 25 kilometres from Mangalore, is home to the church dedicated to St. Antony of Padua. The neighbouring parishes are Omzoor, Neermarga, and Kelrai.

History of the Parish

Fermai was initially part of Holy Family Church, Omzoor. During the tenure of Fr. L. A. Cutinho, Parish Priest of Omzoor from 1973 to 1976, the people of Fermai requested him to build a chapel in the village.

Mr. Eugene Cutinho intended to donate land for the construction of the chapel, on the condition that the chapel be built first, followed by the establishment of a cemetery. However, this proposal did not materialize.

In 1997, Fr. Andrew D’Souza, the then Parish Priest of Omzoor, revived the idea of establishing a chapel at Fermai. He obtained two acres of land free of cost from Mr. Francis Cutinho, along with another 0.14 acres from his neighbour at Fermai. Construction work commenced in 1998, and the chapel was officially erected in 1999.

Development of Bondanthila

Fr. Andrew also purchased 2½ acres of land at Bondanthila from a Catholic benefactor who had donated one acre of land to the Bondanthila Higher Primary School. Fr. Andrew subsequently constructed a new block for the school at Bondanthila.

As Bondanthila is located close to Fermai, the people of Bondanthila also attend religious services at the Fermai church.

Establishment as a Parish

The chapel at Fermai was raised to the status of a parish on 20 May 2004.

Fr. Andrew D’Souza further contributed to the development of the parish by constructing a presbytery-cum-hall on the basement floor, with the church built above it.