Maharashtra Shrine Traces Devotion to Mary Help of Christians to 1905

AMRAVATI, October 16, 2026: A historic church in Kapustalni, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, is drawing renewed attention for its reported dedication to Mary Help of Christians in 1905, a year before the Salesians of Don Bosco arrived in India.

Now part of the Diocese of Amravati, the church preserves a missionary legacy associated with the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales (MSFS). Its history has resurfaced following a discussion in June 2026 between Fr Gilbert Choondal, SDB, and Fr Crisler Perumbully, Pastoral Director of the Diocese of Amravati.

According to local missionary tradition, the church was completed in 1905 and dedicated to Mary Help of Christians, a title later closely associated with St John Bosco and the Salesian family. If confirmed through historical records, the date could establish Kapustalni as one of India’s earliest churches dedicated to this Marian title.

The shrine’s history includes accounts of missionary courage, community struggles and faith in Mary’s intercession. One tradition recounts how Fr Thevenet, MSFS, defended members of the local Mahar Christian community during a tense gathering at nearby Tugaon on May 24, 1905, the feast of Mary Help of Christians. A sudden storm reportedly disrupted the gathering, an event the faithful interpreted as a sign of Mary’s protection. The account appears in the book Shepherds for Christ.

Another mission tradition recalls that an unknown benefactor provided money to help Fr Thevenet pay construction workers when funds ran short during the church’s construction.

Kapustalni is also associated with Fr Louis Gayet, MSFS, who later became Bishop of Nagpur. Local accounts attribute his reported recovery from cholera in 1915 or 1916 to the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. He was appointed bishop in 1934.

Over the decades, the church developed into a Marian pilgrimage centre, attracting devotees from across Vidarbha and neighbouring areas for the annual feast on May 24. Pilgrims gathered for Mass, confession and prayer, making the shrine an important centre of religious fellowship.

The renewed interest in Kapustalni highlights the need to document the early history of Marian devotion in India. While local tradition places the church’s origins in 1905, archival evidence would be needed to establish its precise historical standing among the country’s earliest sanctuaries dedicated to Mary Help of Christians.

By Catholic Connect Reporter