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REFOCUSING ON MGR ANASI'ASIUS HARTMANN 483 ment of the fund were the Carmelite missionaries :Michael Anthony and Tho– mas of the Passion. The Carmelite missionaries then in the Vicariate and those others who were to join it, were together unèer the obligation to repay the loan. Bach of them was to annually contribute Rs 300 to Fr Thomas of the Passi011 or offer 60 LowMasses in lieu of the same. This is actualiy the story of the erection of the present-day St Peter,s church and the namesake parish of Bandra. The required authorisation for the construction of the church was sought and got from the Coliector ofThana. In order to bave available the requisite space for the church a number of smali plots bordering one another had to be purchased. The laying of the founda– tion-stone took place on 12 April 1852. As the construction progressed, it was actually proving to be an uphill struggle 25 • Surmounting ali these difficulties, the work progressed and the church was blessed 12 September 1853 by Mgr Hart– mann. While the ground floor served for worship, the first floor was used as living quarters. The erection of the church went a long towards effectively bringing together the faithful into a well-knit congregation. 4. Protraction of interimistic situation and change of stage-set Right from the moment Mgr Hartmann carne on the scene as Adminis– trator of the Vicariate of Bombay, he was being fast sucked into the messiness which then characterised the ecclesiastica! affairs there. What had appeared to be a mere makeshift arrangement was now absorbing ali of his time and atten– tion. Despite the state of near-total anarchy that then reigned supreme in the Vicariate 26 , he strove with ali his might to gear the Vicariate towards normalcy and at the same tried to address himself to the burning issues facing the Vicari– ate. While augmenting the quality of spiritual care of the faithful continued to be high up on the agenda, there were a1so a few other must items that called for the Administrator's instant intervention. The seminary for the training of can- Fathcrs dcstincd for Bombay wcrc John Chrysostom from Tuscany, Moses from Tuscany, Thomas from Rome and Andrew from Bordeaux. Cf. Mo1111111enta Anastasia11a, I, 723. 2 5 Hull, Bombqy Missio11-History, I, 483: "A dea! of obstruction was offered by the mam– letdar Manuel de Souza (a parishioner of St Andrew's) under cover of technicalit:ies such as leave for cutting down trees, digging stones, or paying of taxes, etc., so that the Collector had to be appealed to for orders to allow the bu.ilding to proceed". 26 Gense, The Ch1m:h at the Gatewqy of India, 114: "The whole of Bombay was in welter of confusion. The Padroadists and the pro-Carmelites were irreconcilable. In the parish churches the parishioners were at loggerheads with their vicars; the Carmelites clid not pull together, and complaints were made against them by the seculars and the laymen".
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