Elathagiri is one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Dharmapuri. Elathagiri has already celebrated its Centenary of its establishment and certainly, it has been spreading in its fragrance of faith. A kilometer away from Elathagiri on the western side, a hamlet consisting of Catholics is known as Kathampallam. In order to cultivate the land, a handful of people got away from Elathagiri village away from the river and established a community of Catholics. It is the place where two panchayats viz., Palepalle and Orappam get divided and hence this village consists of lands of two rural panchayats.
After 1820 AD people migrated from the village Elathagiri and had their settlements away from the Church but in their own lands. It's a cluster of different “family communities” viz Pappu, Maniyam, Naduveethi, Thottam etc. Presently there are more or less 150 families live.
It is a valley in its geographical setup that is between Elathagiri and Orappam. There was always a continuous flow of air and to mean such a flow of air in the valley, the valley was named Kathampallam (Kaatru - Air, valley - Pallam). Some other people also used to describe the name of the village the other way, Ie., there existed a “guarding place” on the Orappam side(even today it exists) and there were always two people to guard the people to secure the people from thieves and other malicious elements. The valley was named after them ie., Guard - Kaappaan, Valley- Pallam. In the course of time, it has become “Kathampallam”. The guarding post still exists.
Till 1937, the Catholics were buried at the Christian graveyard. Yet there was no proper way to reach the graveyard from Kathampallam. Further, the local river used to get flooded very often, and hence it was not easy to reach the graveyard of Elathagiri. So in 1937, a dead man was buried at Kathampallam. There was a dispute among the people on the place where to bury. In 1938 two were buried at Elathagiri and continued the tradition to bury dead at Elathagiri. Again in the course of time, people started to bury their near and dear ones at Kathampallam and so there was an establishment of Christan graveyard at Kathampallam.
In 1995 then Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Arulsamy, and Parish Council helped the Franciscan Sisters of Aloysius Gonzaga to buy twenty acres of land in order to build the Novitiate House. Mr. Pappuraj from the Pappu family, Savariappan, Savarimuthu, and Susaiappan Paulraj offered 1.69 acres of land (survey nos. 367,368) to Fr. Arulsamy and wanted him to build St. Joseph’s Church. The land offered to build the church was from Mr. Susai for he had no issues maintaining the land. The Paarai Kovil (Holy Family Church) was very much sentimentally connected with the people of Elathagiri because of its tradition and devotion. Since the portion of the land offered to the church was from Mr. Susai(Joseph) and people had a great devotion to the Holy family whose leader was St. Joseph, the Church was named after St. Joseph.
Fr. Jegaraj continued the efforts of Fr. Arulsamy and he made it up to the blessing of the Church. It was blessed on 13.02.1999. Then Fr. Susairaj made great efforts and registered 01.69 acres in the name of theDharmapuri Diocese of Society on 30.03.2009 at Bargur.
The Franciscan Sisters of Aloysius Gonzaga were looking for a place of serenity and calmness to build their novitiate. At last, they made it up in the year 1998. In 2009 they established their Education mission by building Gonzaga College of Arts and Science for Women, affiliated with Periyar University. Later again they established Gonzaga Matriculation Higher Secondary School . The number of students increased exponentially and Education Mission reached its zenith.
From the year 1999 onwards, Fr Susairaj made it a point to celebrate the Holy Mass every Wednesday for the church dedicated to St Joseph. From 2010 onwards he came forward to offer masses on Sundays too. Again to benefit the students who pursue their education, the Students' Hostel was established. For all these advancements His Excellency Joseph Antony Sdb DD. , was there to support and to promote the same. The parish is greatly indebted to him for all that he had done for the cause of the growth of the Parish. On the First Wednesdays, special devotion was observed and a procession (Valanar Valam) around the church took place. The devotees were served food and the people made it a great event.
Since the number of attendees was increasing day by day, there was a need to build a new church. The present Bishop, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Pius DD. , continued to help the people to grow. Fr. Susairaj applied for a project to Propaganda Fide and put up a foundation for the new Church in the year 2013. As he was transferred, his successor Fr. Arockia Samy J completed the construction with help of the local donors. His tireless efforts were very much appreciated by the people even today.
Since the number of people was relatively considerable and there were educational institutions run by women religious, there was a dire need to promote Kathampallam to become a new parish. Yet there was no presbytery and the boundaries were not fixed by the Diocesan management. So to care for the souls of the village, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Pius DD., elevated the substation Kathampallam to be a Quasi-Parish as recommended by Fr Arockiasamy J , the local Bishop appointed Fr Martin Christu Doss P as the Priest-in-charge of the Quasi-parish. As he was teaching physics at St. Antony’s Higher Secondary School, Elathagiri, and staying at the presbytery of Our Lady of Refuge Church , Elathagiri, he was taking care of the souls.
It was a great privilege for every church to be consecrated in the diocese. This is the only Church consecrated to St. Joseph in the diocese. The priest-in-charge and the people made it that it could be consecrated. The Local Bishop was so good enough to consent to it and he came forward to do it. The church was consecrated on 1st July 2018. Every year the anniversary of the consecration of the Church is celebrated in a grand manner.
The people felt the need to secure the new Church where the Eucharist was kept. With the relentless efforts from the people and helps from the diocese, the compound wall was built. The words of God were displayed on it and they are turning the hearts of the people towards God.
Fr. Martin Christu Doss used to come from Elathagiri to do his pastoral ministry. People found difficulty to meet the priest for their needs. It was very difficult to meet the people from his side too. So he made relentless efforts to build the presbytery. People were also so generous to contribute along with the diocesean contribution he built under his supervision.
Elathagiri is one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Dharmapuri. Elathagiri has already celebrated its Centenary of its establishment and certainly, it has been spreading in its fragrance of faith. A kilometer away from Elathagiri on the western side, a hamlet consisting of Catholics is known as Kathampallam. In order to cultivate the land, a handful of people got away from Elathagiri village away from the river and established a community of Catholics. It is the place where two panchayats viz., Palepalle and Orappam get divided and hence this village consists of lands of two rural panchayats.
