St. Maria Goretti Convent, Kemmanu (1933)

ST MARIA GORETTI CONVENT, KEMMANNU

Kemmannu is a beautiful village, 3kms, from Kallianpur and 8kms, from Udupi. The Catholic residents of this place had been a part of the Mount Rosary and Milagres Churches of Kallianpur, till 1938. Due to the long distances, the Catholic families had no access to spiritual help for deepening their Christian faith. Besides, their children were deprived of education in a Catholic environment.

Rt Rev. Dr Victor R.Fernandes, Bishop of Mangalore, and Rev. Fr. Severine P. Tellis, parish priest of Mount Rosary Church, Kallianpur, having realized the need of Catholic education for the children of Kemmannu, invited the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, Mangalore, in 1933, to take over the already existing Lower Primary School for girls at Kemmannu Bazar, and to begin a Convent there.

Mother Josephine and Sister Louise paid a visit to Kemmannu to locate the absolutely necessary blocks for accommodating the sisters. The Bishop and Mr. Nicholas Fernandes a resident of Kemmannu, generously donated land andschool was handed over to the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel on 25 March 1933 and named the Rosario Higher Primary School, Kemmannu.The sisters got the official approval, on 13th July 1934, to change the name of the school from Rosario Girls’ School to ‘St. Philomena’s School.’ The foundation stone for the new Convent was blessed by Rev. Fr Saldanha and the new block was completed and blessed on 26th January 1936.

June 1971 ushered in brighter hopes for the people of Kemmannu. Carmel Girl’s School was opened with 20 students and the number rose to 72 by July. The newly constructed Higher Primary School Building was blessed by Fr.Andrew Louis, Parish Priest on 3 June 1997. The chapel and Convent building were blessed by Rt Rev. Aloysius P D’Souza, Bishop of Mangalore on 5 May 2000. A new project of the convent, Carmel Preparatory School was opened on 1 June 2004, with 30 children on roll. English Medium school was started in the year 2006.

St.Maria Goretti Convent was established in Kemmannu to fulfill the aim of our Mother Foundress – for strengthening the faith of the Catholics. All down the years, this aim was fulfilled in spite of hardships and difficulties. May the future be a bright one for the people of Kemmannu!

Contact Details:
St. Maria Goretti Convent
Kemmannu P.O.
Kemmannu – 576 115
Ph.No.: 0820 – 2546102
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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