HOLY CROSS PARISH, NAOJAN - 1988

Location
Noajan is situated 264 km south-west of Dibrugarh. The nearest town is Sarupathar, which is about 12 kms. Though there is a railway station at Naojan, most of the trains do not stop there.

History of the parish

After much planning and hard labour by so many, the Holy Cross- parish was officially established on 24th September 1988 by Rt. Rev. Thomas Menamparampil sdb, Bishop of Dibrugarh.  Fr. Andrew Vadakumpadam was appointed as the first parish priest and the communities were separated from Sarupathar parish.  The parish then consisted of three Boro communities, two Garo communities, one Karbi community and twelve Adivasi communities.  The missionary zeal of Fr. Mathew Chanikuzhy, while he was the parish priest of Lacitgaon parish, opened the door of the church to the Boros living in the reserve forest area of Dhansiri subdivision.  This Parish is greatly indebted to Fr. V. M. Joseph and may other fathers who worked with dedication.  Mr. Joseph Manala will be remembered for his contribution towards establishing this parish. 

The long cherished dream of Bishop Thomas to have the Franciscan Clarist Sisters in diocese became to a reality when he invited them to work in the Holy Cross parish.  Thus on 11th. August 1991, Jyoti Bhavan convent was established with four sisters.  The first community consisted of Sr. Merlin FCC, superior, Sr. Salomy FCC,  Sr. Annie Lisieux FCC and Sr. Rosmi FCC.  They assisted in the parish and served the people by way of dispensary, village visits, catechesis, teaching ministry and socio-economic developmental activities.  Many dedicated sisters have toiled since the establishment of the convent. The sisters also look after the Jyoti Bhavan Girls boarding which was opened in 1997.

Holy Cross School was established in the year 1989, in order to educate the tribals and the local people.  The school is managed by the parish priest with the assistance of FCC sisters.  Rt. Rev. Joseph Aind, Bishop of Dibrugarh, appointed Fr. Caesar Henry A, as the second parish priest in 1996.  The people are organized to build up a strong local church.  The Holy Cross Boys’ Boarding was opened in 1999 in order to facilitate and encourage education among Catholic boys.  The children are organized by way of  “Krus Veer” and the women are organized and motivated through “Holy Cross Women’s Association” and the village men are grouped and motivated to live better lives with dignity. The youth are coordinated to live active and meaningful Christian lives.  The whole parish is steered at achieving spiritual, social and economic progress through various activities.  The self- sacrificing catechists have done a yeoman service to spread the word of God among the tribals.

Today the parish has 4360 Catholics spread out in 15 villages of Naojan region.  The villages are: