Christianity at the Gateway: The Church in Mumbai

Dr Fleur D’Souza, a well-known historian and media personality, was kind enough to present the 5th Pilgrim Stays Webinar, streamed live on Saturday, 5 September 2020 on Facebook and YouTube. Dr D’Souza retired as Head of the Department of History at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, after an illustrious career spanning decades.

She is on the Heritage Cell of the Archdiocese of Mumbai, where she is one of the prime movers of the highly esteemed Heritage Museum set up by the Archdiocese at Goregaon. She served as a member of the first Academic Council of the Maritime History Society of the Indian Navy (2016–2019), and is an executive council member of the Oral History Association of India. Continuing in the vein of our previous events, the Church in Mumbai was the focus of the evening. Considering that Dr Fleur D’Souza received her doctorate for her study on “Thana under the Portuguese 1534–1737”, there could be none more eminently suited to deliver the address.

The Earliest Christian Era

Opening with the earliest Christian era, Dr Fleur spoke of Christianity in Bombay, especially before the arrival of the Portuguese. There is a tradition, especially in the Konkan, according to which the Apostle Bartholomew evangelised in the region, leading to the establishment of one of the first early Christian communities at Kalyan, near Thane. This, Dr Fleur was of the opinion, lay in the realm of faith and was not backed by adequate historical proof, at least at this point in time.

She did, however, speak about the writings of Cosmas Indicopleustes (meaning Cosmas who sailed to India), a 6th-century Greek merchant turned monk hailing from Alexandria in Egypt. Best known for his seminal work Christian Topography, Cosmas wrote about the existence of a flourishing Christian community at Kalyan.

The Martyrs of Thana

Moving to the year 1321, she said that the existence of Christianity in Kalyan was based on much firmer ground where this period is concerned. For it was in April that year that four Franciscans were martyred at Thana, a period when the Delhi Sultanate ruled over the region. The 700th anniversary of the martyrdom was to be commemorated at the Cathedral of San Catervo, Tolentino, in Italy — the hometown of one of the friars who was martyred, the Blessed Thomas of Tolentino.

His remains were removed by the Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone, who passed through the region a few years later en route to China. Eventually, only the skull was carried back to Tolentino, where it is venerated as a relic. A small part of the relic was shipped to India and is preserved at the church of St John the Baptist, Thane. The Archbishop of Bombay, His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, was expected to lead a delegation from India to the event.

The Arrival of the Portuguese

The arrival of the Portuguese substantially altered the relative status of Christianity in the region. Equipped with firepower that at that time was unprecedented, the Portuguese quickly set about bringing large swathes of the Konkan coast under their flag. A series of battles with the Portuguese, along with the fear of the growing power of the Mughals in Delhi, compelled Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, to sign the Treaty of Bassein in 1534. The following year, on 25 October 1535, Bassein and the seven islands of Bombay were ceded to the Portuguese. This was followed by the formal takeover of Diu in 1539 and of Daman two decades later, in 1559.

The Northern Province

Thus were laid the foundations of the Portuguese Província do Norte, or Northern Province, a territory which extended 220 km from Daman in the north to Chaul in the south, and in width between 25 and 50 km inland. It was administered from Bassein, now renamed Vasai, which soon became a city fabled for its large manorial houses belonging to the fidalgos (noblemen) of the Portuguese aristocracy. Its opulence soon led to it being viewed as the jewel in the crown of the Portuguese Empire in India, or Estado da Índia.

The revenue generated by the Northern Province was sizeable enough to fuel the growth of Goa, the capital of Portuguese India. Much of it was spent in building cathedrals and churches on a lavish scale. The strategic location of Bassein gave the Portuguese monopoly control over the sea trade, an advantage guarded zealously by a heavily armed garrison and fleet. The Portuguese built five convents, thirteen churches and one orphanage in the city of Bassein. Seven of these churches were built within the fort, which had an extensive area of 110 acres.

The Missionary Orders

All four of the main missionary orders of Portugal established a presence in the province. The Augustinians, the Dominicans, the Franciscans and the Jesuits founded many churches, monasteries, colleges and libraries on Salsette Island. The impact of their presence was to influence much of the region’s development, and continued to do so for many years after their departure. Of the many churches built in that era, only a few survive. The Church in Mumbai has done a great deal in preserving and maintaining its illustrious heritage.

Notable among these is the church of Our Lady of Bethlehem at Dongri, Dharavi Island, located in the north-west (not to be confused with the slum of Dharavi in central Mumbai). Built in 1613, it is perhaps the only church in Bombay that has remained unaltered ever since it was built. The Jesuit monastery of St Anna, built on the spot where Bandra’s main bus terminus stands today, was a fortified structure complete with several cannons, and even had a militia comprising about a hundred gunmen. It was to be later demolished by the British in 1739, when the Maratha takeover of Bombay was imminent.

The Coming of the British

Meanwhile, the politics of Europe had its reverberations in India. Both Portugal and England were scouting for allies — the former to contain the aggressive and growing Dutch East India Company, the latter to emerge from the clutches of Spain, which now effectively ruled it. From this convergence of interests was born the union between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. One of the terms of the marriage treaty, signed on 23 June 1661, provided for the transfer of the seven islands of Bombay to the British Empire, in return for British naval assistance against Spain.

The once-powerful Portuguese were weakened by a series of events both within and without, which led to the Northern Province falling to the Marathas in 1739. The immediate repercussions of this shift of political power brought tumultuous upheaval to the Catholics living in these territories. A sharp decline in their well-being, both material and spiritual, saw the Catholics undergo numerous hardships. Once well-maintained and well-attended churches were looted for their wealth, and lay abandoned and desolate.

In 1774, there was once again a reversal of fortunes, as the British retook the city from the Marathas. Though impoverished and woebegone, the community was able to overcome its setbacks and set about rebuilding their lives. British rule, however, did present its own set of difficulties, as the new rulers viewed the Catholics of the erstwhile Northern Province with suspicion.

The Padroado–Propaganda Schism

Being under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Goa led to doubts in the minds of the British as to where the loyalties of the Catholics lay. In addition, the fact that many affluent families still spoke Portuguese did not help matters. The Padroado–Propaganda Schism is a well-known ecclesiastical conflict between the Portuguese Crown and the Holy See. Its tremors were felt all over the Portuguese Empire, as well as in areas where they had ruled previously and continued to exercise influence.

Bombay was no exception, and the friction played out for well over two centuries, until the era of Double Jurisdiction came to an end in 1928. This resulted in the appointment of a Portuguese Archbishop, followed by a British one, in keeping with the spirit of the agreement.

Independence and Beyond

Political independence was fast approaching, and the Archdiocese of Bombay prepared for this transition by inducting its first Indian Archbishop, Cardinal Valerian Gracias, in 1950. Independence for India dawned in 1947 — a nation was reborn into an era where modern thought and enlightenment sought to end centuries of stagnation. Ideas like parliamentary democracy, constitutional rule and universal adult suffrage were transplanted overnight into a society that was throwing away the vestiges of colonial overlordship.

It was in such an era that the 38th Eucharistic Congress was held in Bombay in 1964. This was perhaps the pinnacle in the history of Christianity in the country, and of the Church in Mumbai in particular.

A Telling Contribution

The Catholic community constitutes a minuscule fragment of the population of India. Yet it punches much above its weight in the areas of education and healthcare. In taking these most basic of human necessities to those who most need them, but are denied access because of deprivation, the Church in India has made a telling contribution to society. Bombay leads in this aspect by virtue of some of the finest colleges in the country. It is to the credit of the Church in Mumbai, and to its Catholic laity, that they are working towards a vision of a great future, despite the many challenges of these times.