Services
Sunday : 7 a.m., 9 a.m.(Eng) 5.30 p.m.
Week Days : 6.15 a.m., 6.15. p.m.
Friday : 6.15 a.m. 5.30 p.m. Adoration & Mass
The history of Maharanipeta parish star ted in the year 1852 when a small house was bought at Prakasaraopeta where a small chapel was built for the Tamil speaking Catholics by Fr. J M Tissot. Fathers used to come from St. Aloysius to cater to the spiritual needs of the people. Mgr. Neyret bought 10 acres of land near Prakasaraopeta in 1853. At the corner of the proper ty a new church was built by Fr. Gontier in 1917. The old Chapel was conver ted into a school and the same was sold away in 1929. There were many priests who used to come to conduct religious services at St. Anthony’s Church. A special mention is to be made of Fr J B Gontier who regularly under took the job of looking after the faithful from 1904 to 1935. It was he who built the church, opened the St. Antony’s school and shifted it to its present location in 1923. It became a Higher Elementary School in 1925, the boarders who were in the old cathedral were brought to St. Anthony’s in 1935 when priests began to stay here. The first par t of the present school was built by Fr. Andrade who was the H M in 1940. Subsequently it became a High School when Fr Gopu Inna Reddy occupied the H M’s seat.
It was Bishop Rossillon who built the new Bishop’s house on a 10 acred plot and shifted his residence from the Fort to this new house in 1934. With the opening of Bishop’s House, the church got its Resident Priests. The Procurator to the Bishop used to serve as the parish priest for some years.
Maharanipeta acquired its impor tance due to the Collectorate, the District Cour t and the King George Hospital. Many residential quar ters came up in its surroundings. The school and the church necessitated many catholics to settle down. The catholic population increased steadily. St. Anthony’s parish stands as the second largest parish in the city. The priests who worked here later became bishops such as Fr. J M Tissot and Fr Baud, Bishop Ignatius Gopu to mention a few.
The present beautiful church was built in 1972 during the time of Bishop Ignatius Gopu.