This landscape was purchased in 1944 by Rev. Fr. Andrew Antonian. At that time Rev. Fr. Andrew Antonian was th

Parish Priest of St. Patrick’s Church, Cantt. Under the able guidance of Rt. Rev. Angelo Poli, who was the then Bishop of Allahabad Diocese. The building towards the North was the Priests residence attached with a big hall. The hall was used on week days for school and on Sundays the same hall was used as the place of worship and Holy Eucharist was celebrated in the same Hall. This practice continued till the new structure for the school came in to existence. Rev. Fr. Stephen was the most able and a competent successor of Rev. Fr. Andrew. In 1947 the Diocese of Allahabad was divided and new Dioceses such as Lucknow, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Varanasi, four Dioceses came in to existence. Italian Missionaries under the leadership of rt. Rev. Condrad De Vitto made the presence of Jesus felt in Lucknow. Maltese Missionaries under the guidance of Rt. Rev. Fenece worked in the Diocese of Jhansi, Rt. Rev. Jerol Yalaf was a Canadian Missionary under whom the Mission work in the Diocese Gorakhpur began. Under the leadership of Rt. Rev. Raymond D Mello Bishop of Allahabad the Indian Priests and Missionaries started the work of spreading the name of Jesus in the Diocese of Allahabad. This was the time that Rt. Rev. Angelo Poli reigned from the post of Bishop after completing his term.

Because of these developments Rev. Fr. Andrew Antonian went to Gorakhpur as the Canadian Missionaries had started working there and he went to join them in Gorakhpur. In place of him Rev. Fr. Baltazar Periera and Rev. Fr. Sylvester Periera were appointed to St. Francis Xavier’s Church, to carry on the mission work. Though Rev. Fr. Stephen was the Assistant parish Priest, he worked with great zeal, courage and commitment and through his great dedication he was able to build half of the Primary section of the School. Somewhere in 1947-48, St. Francis Xavier’s Church received the full status of an independent Parish. The first to be baptized in the Church was the son of Sharon Francis S/o Late Michael Sharma and Mrs. Antonia Sharma on 3rd June 1948.   The first marriage to be solemnized in the new parish Church was of Mr. Francis Xavier and Miss. Florence Mary. It was a joyful coincidence that the first to be baptised and to be married had the name of St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Parish Church

Later Rev. Fr. Faustin Alva, took up the reins of St. Francis Xavier’s Church into his hands. The Church and the School came to its completion at his time. He built the Primary Section of the School and also completed the two storey of the Intermediate Section of the School. Besides this he also built the building of Kumari Udyan Girls Intermediate College and the Fatima Convent Building. He also bought the present property of Mariampur School and Mariampur Hospital, and sowed the seed of Christian faith into the hearts of the people in the vicinity.   The period of Rev. Faustin Alva was the Golden period of St. Francis Xavier’s Church. Rev. Fr. Peter D’Souza was the assistant of Rev. Fr. Faustin Lava, who planted the Ashoka Trees all around the school building.

The old names of Ashoknagar, Harshnagar was Gusdamau and the former name of Mariampur school was Narainpurwa. The presence of St. Francis Xavier’s Inter College and Kumari Udyan Girls Inter College, steeped up the development and quick progress of Harshnagar and Ashoknagar. Lajpatnagar grew up and developed because of Mariampur School and Mariampur Hospital. The contribution made by these Institutions in the development of Kanpur can never be forgotten.

The all used for the Eucharistic Celebration on Sunday for the believers was just a hall. Rev. Fr. Lawrence Kurien in his tenure from 1957 to 1964, worked hard to give birth to St. Francis Xavier’s Church. He managed to bring to proportion the structure of the Church and renovated the hall to convert it into a Church, by putting Mosaic for the floor, putting grills for the windows, and built u a beautiful altar for the Eucharistic sacrifice. The hall had changed into a Church and it took the shape of the Parish Church. Besides this he also built up the servant quarters and games room for the school in the attached building. Rev. Fr. John of the Cross was the first Principal of St. Francis Xavier’s School from 1954 to 1964. Rev. Fr. Philip Neri Noronha was his Assistant.

Rev. Fr. Cajetan Saldanha, as the parish priest from 1964 to 1970 built up the southern portion of the School building. Below the School building was made provision for some shops to be given on rent. Above the shops was the Laboratory for various subjects.His companion Rev. Fr. Noel D’Souza from the year 1951 to 1960 worked as the Vice Principal of the School from 1963 to 1980. Rev. Fr. Noel D’Souza was the parish priest of St. Francis Xavier’s Church from 1975 to 1980.    The contribution in the building up of St. Francis Xavier’s Church can never be forgotten. Rev. Fr. Antony Pinto was the parish priest from 1970 to 1975. Rev. Fr. John Lobo was the Principal and Parish Priest from 1980 to 1984 whose commitment and dedication for the Parish and School is praiseworthy.

After two decades the people of the Parish felt that the Church was small for all the parishioners to attend the Holy Mass. Due to the hard work and the spiritual zeal of the former priests lot of people started coming to the Church. The Church was over crowded on Sundays and there was not enough space for all to fit in. Specially on major feasts like Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, many had to stand outside the Church. As a consequence, the Eucharistic Celebration of Easter and Christmas was held in the School Ground. Rev. Fr. Levi D’Souza the Parish Priest from 1985 to 1992 along 

with his able companion Rev. Fr. John Baptist Castelino the Principal of St. Francis Xavier’s Inter College, took upon themselves the responsibility of a blue print for a new Church building. They felt the need of a new Church and convinced the then, Bishop Isidore Fernandes to grant them permission for a new Church which would be spacious enough to cater to the needs of the faithful. Rev. Fr. William D’Souza and Rev. Fr. John Baptist Castelino took up this herculean task of getting a good and experienced Architect to draw the map of the Church and then got the map sanctioned from Kanpur Development Authority. They accepted this challenge and completed the work of the new Church in one year, record time.

The new Church proved to be gift for the Golden Jubilee of the Parish established in Ashoknagar for the Believers. The only other Church which existed in Kanpur before St. Francis Xavier’s Church was St. Patrick Church in the Cantt. Lots of people used to come to Church covering long distances either by Bicycle or horse driven cart. People had to travel far and wide for the reception of Sacraments and when some one died it was a challenging task to reach the person to the cemetery.

December 3rd 1993 is a red letter day for St. Francis Xavier’s Church, Kanpur, which in the annals of the Northern Indian Church must be written in letters of gold, for on this day St. Xavier’s Church after its existence of 50 years is blessed with the gift of a spacious church to accommodate its ever growing Catholic population. Much of the phenomenal development of the school and parish was due to the indefatigable efforts of the late Rev. Fr. Faustin Alva. May his soul rest in Peace. His immediate successors untiringly carried on his work, which now has given us quite a flourishing school and parish.

Years have passed and the Church named after St. Francis Xavier, stands in full bloom and in perfect. Today after 73 years of the planting of the Cross in Ashoknagar, Kanpur, the Church holds a unique and special place in the hearts of all Christians, when they hear of St. Francis Xavier’s Church in Kanpur.