Location
Dibrugarh is situated on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra river. The parish is in Kodomoni, along the rail line, close to the railway workshop. It is about two kilometers away from the railway station. The Mohanbari air port (Dibrugarh) is 14 km away. The Assam Medical College is about 5 km from the parish and the Dibrugarh University is about 7 km from the parish. St. Mary's School, Little Flower School and Don Bosco School are very close to the parish.
History of the parish
The Dibrugarh Mission was opened in 1909 by the German Salvatorians on the north end of the town on the bank of the Dibru River, under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Rudolf Fontaine. Till then it was looked after from Guwahati. In 1909 about 5 bighas of land was bought close to the so called "Red Road", opposite to the Tinsukia Ghat, with a small bungalow. The official opening was done on the 1st April 1909 by the Prefect Apostolic of Assam. In 1911 Fr. Gratian Klinke came to Dibrugarh to assist Fr. Rudolf. In 1915 a plot of land with a bungalow called the "Mountain View" was bought for the Sisters of Charity, very close to the first one. With the outburst of the 1st World War, the fathers had to leave the place and the house was rented to the Post Office. After the war, the Salvatorians did not come back, but the Church property was taken back by Msgr. Louis Mathias sdb, the Prefect Apostolic of Assam. No priest remained in Dibrugarh, because the house needed a lot of repairs. Besides, the river too was becoming a threat. Anyway the house was repaired and on 28th February 1931 Fr. Leo Piasecki sdb re-started Dibrugarh parish. These properties were washed away in the flood and erosion of 1954-1955. But providentially Fr. Piasecki had exchanged the old land and the building with the present land in 1936. It was of a certain Mr. Mitra. Frs. Piasecki and Marmol came to the new site on the 12th August 1936. The parish then consisted of the present Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, North Lakhimpur districts of Assam and the two states of Nagaland and Manipur. In 1940 nearly 150 Catholic communities were cared for from Dibrugarh and there were over 19000 Catholics. Later the following parishes were divided from Dibrugharh: Golaghat (1941); Digboi (1949); Naharkatia (1950); Doom Dooma (1952). With the erection of Moranhat (1972) and Dhuria (1993) parishes, Dibrugarh became a considerably smaller parish with over 4000 Catholics spread over in 24 substations. The town has about 525 Catholics. In 1951, when Dibrugarh was erected a diocese, the parish church was elevated to the rank of the Cathedral. Sacred Heart of Jesus is the patron of the parish.
The following are the substations with distances from the centre
| 1 |
Attabari TE |
8 km |
| 2 |
Bougpara TE |
8 km |
| 3 |
Bingutia Village |
21 km |
| 4 |
Borboruah TE |
14 km |
| 5 |
Chabua TE |
28 km |
| 6 |
Chaulkhoa TE |
5 km |
| 7 |
Dikom TE |
20 km |
| 8 |
Hatiali TE No. 28 |
30 km |
| 9 |
Hatiali TE No.29 |
29 km |
| 10 |
Hezelbank TE |
21 km |
| 11 |
Jamirah TE |
16 km |
| 12 |
Kapua Village |
36 km |
| 13 |
Lengrai Village |
37 km |
| 14 |
Mahabir TE |
21 km |
| 15 |
Madarkhat TE |
16 km |
| 16 |
Manohari TE |
18 km |
| 17 |
Metekani Village |
27 km |
| 18 |
Muttuck TE |
11 km |
| 19 |
North Balijan TE |
39 km |
| 20 |
Sessa TE |
9 km |
| 21 |
Singlijan TE |
18 km |
| 22 |
Sukhpathar Village |
36 km |
| 23 |
Tamulbari TE |
19 km |
| 24 |
Wilton TE |
32 km |
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Mass Timings |
| Sundays |
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6.30 am: Hindi/Assamese |
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8.30 am: English |
| Weekdays |
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6.30 am: Hindi/Assamese/English |
Postal Address
Sacred Heart Cathedral
P.B. No. 50
Dibrugarh – 786 001
Assam. India
Tel. 0373/2322036
Fax: 0091-373-2321496 |
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