ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S CHURCH, REWA

Location and origin: Rewa was the only church in the whole region, which was later erected as the diocese of Satna. It is situated at a beautiful site beside Bodabag Road. Till India got independence the Christians were not enjoying religious freedom in Rewa and adjacent states. One of the prominent princely states of the time was that of Rewa. The Christians in this area were practising their religious faith privately. Occasionally, the priest of the neighbouring parish, Katni, came over here to offer Holy Mass. The Mission Station of Rewa was erected under the jurisdiction of Jabalpur in 1947. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery were invited by the Government to get their service in the P.K. 'Patala'. They agreed to do so on condition that they would be allowed to have a Catholic priest as their Chaplain. Thus a Catholic Priest reached Rewa and resided there. A plot of 6.17 acres of land was bought for the church in 1957 at Bodabag, But in 1962 the Sainik School of Rewa acquired the greater portion of the land, leaving aside a small plot.

Rev. Fr. Engelen was the first priest appointed to Rewa. He served as the Chaplain as well as the parish priest. The Priest-in-charge of Rewa visited occasionally all the places entrusted to him, offered Holy Eucharist, and administered other sacraments. Its is known that Satna was visited every Sunday; while Birla, Panna, Majghawan were visited once a month and other places even less-frequently. One Nobertine Priest namely, Fr. H. Manders was looking after the-pastoral needs of the whole area for different periods especially from May 1964 to October 1968. A small Christian community comprising a few migrant Christians who were employed in different places. He had his residence in Rewa, from where he was going to the other places. When a proposal was sent to the Vincentian Congregation about taking over the area for mission work, Fr. James Edavazhithara V.C. had come to Rewa and stayed with the Priest-in-charge and helped him in the pastoral duties and visited mission stations. In October 1968 Fr. H. Manders was transferred to Katni and Fr. James  Edavazhithara V.C. was appointed priest-in-charge of Rewa

Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery had served the Gandhi Memorial Hospital, which was later made Medical College Hospital, from 1952 to 1962, at the request of the Government. They had also run a Nursing School. The Chapel used by the Sisters in the Nurses' Quarters is being used for Sunday Masses now.

Parish Church: Rewa Parish came under the jurisdiction of Satna diocese, at the time of the latter's erection. The formal inauguration of the Exarchate and the installation of the Apostolic Exarch Mar Abraham Mattam took place at Rewa and the Exarch stayed for few months, till he shifted to Satna in January 1969. 'Jyothi Bhavan', the presbytery was also used as the Vincentian Ashram for some years. The present Church at Rewa was built in 1976. A portion of the Church was rebuilt on December 21st 1997. The newly constructed presbytery was blessed on May 1st 1998. This parish is consisted of 65 Catholic families and a total number of 250 Catholics. The present Parish Priest is Fr. James Chempakulathil.

Carmelite Convent: Carmelite Sisters came to Rewa at the request of Mar Abraham D. Mattam and started a convent in 1968. The pioneers were Sr. Reparata and Sr. Majella. They engage mainly in teaching in the school. At present there are five sisters. They are Srs. Sincy (Superior), Lincy, Treasa, Celine and Sr. Jyothi. All the sisters are teaching in the Jyothi Higher Secondary School. They also visit houses and help various activities of the parish.

Jyoti Higher Secondary School: A school named Jyothi Shishu Vidyalay was started, on 10 January, 1972 with five students. Later in 1987-88, it was raised to a Higher Secondary School. Srs. Jovita, Symphoria and Sr. Jose Mary served as the Principlas of Jyothi Higher Secondary School Rewa. At present there are 1815 students spread from L.K.G to Std. XII, with 59 teachers on the staff. Fr. Mathew Pothalil, V.C, is the present Principal.

Sacred Heart School: The beginning of the Sacred Heart School, owned by the Sacred Heart Congregation, was on 3 July, 1998. The newly constructed school building was blessed by Mar Abraham D. Mattam on that day. The construction was done under the guidance of Sr. Ligouri, S.H. The LKG and UKG of the school was started on 6 July, with 110 students. Now there are 225 students studying in the school from LKG to Std. I. Sr. Rani Maria S. H is the Principal. There are 6 teachers on the staff.

S.H Convent: The S.H. convent is situated in Padra, near the V.C Provincial House. The sisters stayed in the school building after the blessing. After one year of the stay there, they shifted to the newly constructed convent, which was blessed on 7 March, 1999. There are 4 sisters. They are: Srs. Divine (Superior), Rani Maria, Rosilda and Sr. Daisy.

Vincentian Provincial House and De Paul Boy's Town (Padra), Christu Vidhya Niketan (Maidani), are other institutions in Rewa, also mentioned elsewhere. Hence we don't go into the details here.