Church History

The Lalgudi parish was founded on 25.07.1939 at a place called Manakkal, near Lalgudi, with Rev. Fr. T. Arokiasamy appointed as its first parish priest. Until 1985, Manakkal remained the headquarters of the Lalgudi parish.

As Lalgudi was elevated to a taluk, it grew into a town, the population increased, and new residential areas emerged. Catholic families settled here in large numbers for work and convenience, and it was no longer practical for all of them to travel to Manakkal for worship. This is how the circumstances arose for Manakkal and Lalgudi to become separate parishes.

Considering all this, as early as 1976, the former Bishop, His Excellency Paul Arulswamy, purchased two and a half acres of land in Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Lalgudi, through Rev. Fr. P. Joseph. After him, Rev. Fr. A. Lourdusamy was appointed parish priest of Manakkal, and passed away of a heart ailment while the parish priest's house at Lalgudi was being built. Rev. Fr. Thangasamy (1982–1993) then took charge of the parish, and completed, in splendid fashion, the resplendent church, the parish priest's house, and the entire compound wall. On 09.06.1985, the new church was consecrated by Bishop His Excellency Paul Arulswamy.

From 1985, St. Joseph's Church, Lalgudi came into being as a separate parish. Rev. Fr. Thangasamy, who had been serving here while residing at Manakkal, took charge as its first parish priest. The St. Joseph's People's Hall was also built during Fr. Thangasamy's tenure and was inaugurated on 20.04.1992 by His Excellency Bishop Peter Remigius.