Brief History of Garrison Parish

St. Patrick’s Church, Trimulgherry as known today, is inside the Military Fort in the Trimulgherry Garrison, Secunderabad. It was built in 1865. Trimulgherry in Secunderabad was a Garrison for the British troops stationed in agreement with the ruler of Hyderabad. Later Troops of Irish Regiment were stationed in the fort, Irish people being Catholics. With St. Patrick being their Patron Saint, a Church was built inside the fort in the name of St. Patrick. As the population of Catholics in the area grew St. Patrick’s Church could not accommodate the growing population for the religious services. The military Chaplain residing at St. Mary’s Chapel, Mornington Road wanted to build another Church in the Cantonment area. The Governor-General of India leased five and half acres of land for the construction of a Church and thus Holy Family Church was built in 1880 near Lal Bazar.

Garrison was a Chaplaincy right from the beginning. The Chaplain was paid by the Army and had the rank of Captain, hence his official residence was the Army Personnel Club known as R.C. Club. However, after Independence, the Indian Government reduced his rank to ‘subedar’ i.e. a non- commissioned rank. The Chaplain then moved to St. Mary’s Chapel premises on Mornington Road. Since the Church is located within the Fort the Catholic community was allowed to utilize the Church only on Sundays and other festive days. The space beside St. Mary’s Chapel was the stables of the Army, but sometime in the past the stables were abandoned by the Army and the vacant rooms were used by the Church personnel and domestic staff. These rooms were converted to be the Prema Seva Sadan (PSS), a home for street children maintained by the Mill Hill Missionaries. Years later Archbishop Marampudi Joji upon his arrival to the Archdiocese wanted a suitable place for the construction of the Minor Seminary. He asked PSS to shift to some other place and in its place the Archdiocesan Minor Seminary was built in 2004.

Fr. George Parathiparampil, a diocesan Priest, was succeeded by Fr. Thumma Lourdu who stayed there from December 1974 to August 1976. The first salary was Rs. 180/- from the military. Fr. T. Lourdu with Rs. 30,000/- received from Propaganda Fidei, Vatican, repaired the Church and Compound Wall of St. Mary’s Chapel. With the help of Fr. Raymond Ambroise he got loan from Andhra Bank for the people’s self-help projects. He also worked together with Fr. Benny to release few people’s gold from Money lenders and got their gold released. Both of them worked together and got Rs. 50,000/- from a Protestant Organization to release people from debts and it was called ‘Debt Redemption’ and after Fr. T. Lourdu left for studies to Rome, from there Fr. Benny continued his great work of helping people.

Fr. Raymond Ambroise as Parish Priest renovated St. Mary’s Chapel & Presbytery at St. Patrick’s and on 05th September, 2004 Archbishop Marampudi Joji blessed it. He also renovated St. Patrick’s Church in the Fort and on 09th April, 2006 Archbishop Marampudi Joji blessed the renovated Church. Fr. Swarna Bala Prabhakar as Parish Priest celebrated Sesquicentenial 150 years Jubilee of St. Patrick’s Church, Garrison on 25th January, 2015 and Archbishop Thumma Bala celebrated the Solemn High Mass on this occasion. He also took initiative to renovate the Parish Church and Community Hall at Garrison. After the completion of the work, Archbishop Thumma Bala blessed & inaugurated it on 26th January, 2018.

Men & Women Religious Congregations

St. Joseph’S Minor Seminary :PIME (Pontificio Istituto Missioniestere) Missionaries founded St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary in 1910 at Gunfoundry to foster local vocations in the Archdiocese of Hyderabad. In the course of history, St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary was shifted to St. Mary’s Junior College, Secunderabad and then to the territory of Garrison Parish. The present location is situated at Mornington Road, Garrison, Trimulgherry, Cantonment Area.

On 02nd February, 2003, Archbishop Marampudi Joji laid the foundation stone for the present structure. This house of priestly formation was dedicated as a token of their gratitude to all the missionaries who labored tirelessly to plant the seed of faith in this Archdiocese. 29th June, 2004, on the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostles, the present structure of St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Marampudi Joji.

Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) :In 2017, Mill Hill Missionaries - St. Joseph’s Society of Mill Hill requested Archbishop Thumma Bala to allow using the premises of St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary. After consultation, Archbishop Thumma Bala permitted MHM Fathers to use the premises for formation purpose and handed over it to them on 1st April, 2017 for a period of three years and another three years extended with effect from 1st April 2020. They give formation to the students, who are doing their secular studies-Intermediate Programme in Loyola Academy Junior College, Alwal. Apart from academic studies they also focus on the spiritual growth of their candidates, as they are aspiring to be missionary Priests in their St. Joseph’s Society of Mill Hill.