On the high peak of Serene sophisticated luxurious hill was built the adobe of God-one of the 11 churches of CMI fathers weaved into a texture of bricks which their inspired imaginative genius. So is the touch and sweated connection the CMI fathers have with the Chethipuzha Sacred Heart Church.
Even before our beloved Fr. Chavara Kuriakose adorned with the celestial eternal glory, the spade work of the Church with the Ashram was on the anvil in 1868 itself. It was after a long span of 12 years that the real construction of the church was initiated to begin.
With a view to instill spiritual animation in the spirited souls of the faithful between Changanacherry and Kanjirappally an ardent desire to establish a ´koventha´ was taken shape to this effect, a request was presented to the then Bishop and the Prior General by the Local Fathers and the Faithful in September in 1882.
The Bishop of Varapuzha Bp. Marcelin gave the consent to construct the ashram at Chethipuzha hills on 13th January 1883. With the consent of the Bishop, the then Prior General Fr. Kuriakose Elisha appointed two fathers, Fr. Alphonse Mukkat and Fr. Jacob Palakkunnel to shoulder the task of constructing the ashram. The structural work of the ashram was supervised and conducted by the CMI fathers residing at ´valliapally´. The sad demise of Fr. Cherian Chakkalakal, the Vicar of Metropolitan Church, who helped a lot to establish the ´koventha´, was a bad hit to the progress of structural work. Yet, the work was vigorously taken up by Rev. Fr. Alphonse Mukkat. The loan incurred for the registration of the land and the construction work was paid back in reasonable installments in due course as and when the funds were received by the ashram.
On 20th February 1884, the blessing of the Church and the Ashram was done and the fathers began to stay in the ashram permanently. Chethipuzha was the centre of the religious instruction for the people in and around Changanacherry. This monastery had a definite place for the cultural legacy of the people Changanacherry. The monastery made a hard endeavor for the protection of faith when the protestant interruption was widespread. The monastery took interest in the spiritual, material and educational matters of the Dalit Christians from the day of the foundation of the monastery. One of the members of the monastery worked as the Vicar of the Dalit Christians.
As Chethipuzha grown to accommodate a dense populace, a dire need to formulate a parish spanning in and around Chethipuzha was voiced by the faithful of the place. A petition for this purpose was forwarded to Mar Mathew Kavukattu, the Bishop of Changanacherry in 1942. In accordance with the plan already drafted, the southern part of the existing church was extended and the building was completed under the leadership of Fr. Probus Perumalil. The church was blessed by His Grace Bp. Mar Mathew Kavukattu on 28th March, 1968. A lavish monetary assistance of the people from Chethipuzha, Vadakkekara and Koonamthanam besides the faithful from other Christian belt made the extension of the Church Building a grand success. The installation of the parish was made on a mutual understanding between the CMI Prior General and The Bp. of Changanacherry that, by the declaration of the establishment of the new Parish the then-existing Dalit Christian parish was declared non-existing and the parishioners were absorbed into the newly established parish. We specially remember Rev Fr. Berchamans kattapuram and Fr. Ludovic Pathical who co-operated to complete the present parish hall which was blessed by His Grace Abp Joseph Powathil on 7th November 1993. In order to execute the pastoral works and the activities of the pious associations of the parish and to conduct meetings a beautiful parish centre was built by Fr. Antony Kakkanat, the then vicar, in 2000. Later Fr Thomas Choolaprampil started the renovation works which was continued by Fr. James Thayyil, the present Vicar.
Now, the largely widened present beautiful church was made under the able leadership of Fr. James Thayyil who became vicar in 2008. Jesus was blessed the efforts of Fr James who placed complete trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Now we have the beautiful Church, a ´Kurisadi´ and the ´Kodimaram´. In the fullness of God´s grace, the extention of the church was completed and consecrated on 14th November, 2010 by His Grace Mar Joseph Perumthottam, the Abp of Changanacherry , as per the first plan drawn, in the presence of thousands of devotees of Sacred Heart of Jesus.
We remember with gratitude the members of the Ashram, the Asst. vicars, the Kaikkarans, the councilors and different committee and the faithful in and around Chethipuzha and the devotees of Sacred Heart of Jesus around the world.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, bless our way…. Amen