Deesa, Our Lady, Queen of the Universe Church

Between 1829 and 1901, Deesa served as a British military cantonment with a resident Catholic chaplain and an active chapel. At times, the number of Catholic military personnel—mainly Irish—reached as many as 500, necessitating the regular services of the chaplain. However, with the shifting of the cantonment, the chapel eventually fell into disuse and was allowed to deteriorate. The statue of Our Lady Queen of the World, once venerated in the chapel, was moved to Khambholaj, where she was honoured for many years under the title of Our Lady of Khambholaj, or Anathoni Mata. Around 1980, when a statue of the Mother of the Forsaken from Valencia, Spain, was enthroned in the new church at Khambholaj, the original statue of Our Lady Queen of the World was returned to the newly established mission in Deesa.

As early as 1936, Jesuit priest Fr. E. Gadea began visiting Deesa, Radhanpur, Mehsana, and Palanpur from Rajkot, where he celebrated Mass for dispersed Catholic railway employees, government workers, and those serving the local Nawabs. Following India’s independence in 1947, many refugees from Pakistan—especially the Majirana tribals—settled in the northern parts of Gujarat. Among them were baptised Catholics from the Nawabshah mission in Sind. With no visible Church presence in the area, these families gradually lost contact with their faith.

In the late 1960s, a providential meeting between one such Catholic and a railway official led to the rediscovery of this community spread across villages in Radhanpur and Deesa talukas. By then, Kalol mission had already been established. In 1978, the Parish of Deesa was formally erected, covering the entire Banaskantha district. Fr. Thomas Kolady, SJ, was appointed the first parish priest and became a pioneer in reaching out to the villages where the Majirana Catholic community had settled.

Today, the mission is served by the clergy of the Archdiocese of Gandhinagar. The Sisters of Charity of St. Anne run a Higher Secondary School and hostel for girls, actively supporting the pastoral efforts of the parish. The mission also manages a Higher Secondary School and boys’ hostel and is involved in several social development projects throughout the district. Since 1991, diocesan clergy from Ahmedabad and later Gandhinagar have continued this legacy, ministering to both the spiritual and developmental needs of the Deesa Catholic community.