St. John Church: Lost in History
History is what makes us what we are today. A series of
events in a perfect fashion laid out to design the present, so creatively and
perfectly. After all, the gift of present helps us design the future we wish to
witness. But some of these events are ignored and allowed to rust in dust.
One such amazing piece of History is
St. John Baptist Church, located amidst the busy
city of Mumbai, India. The church is situated in the premises of Santacruz
Electronics Exchange Processing Zone (SEEPZ), Mumbai.
Built in 1579 A.D by The Portuguese Society of Jesus or Portuguese Jesuits, the structure is now no more than an abandoned ruin.
The church was made available for worshiping on the feast of John the
Baptist starting from the year it was constructed. The era of
disintegration of the church started after nearly 250 years of its existence when
the village was hit by an epidemic. The authority
was left with no choice but to migrate the church to a nearby village including
all the relics under the supervision of Fr. José
Lourenço Pais, the Vicar of Kondivita
under the British ruled India in 1840 AD.
The deserted building soon became the victim of decay and
vegetation amongst the ruins. It was no later than the unfortunate abandonment
that the poor thing got associated with rumoured ghost stories. The reason was
simple: it was uninhabited and next to a
former graveyard. In the late 20th century, the church was
declared haunted. As per the stories, the
locality was tormented by the spirit of a young bride. As per the sources,
witnesses had encountered the spirit dressed in a white frock. The claim was
given proofs by many who came in the vicinity of the church.
To help the spirit rest in peace for good, there was an
exorcism carried out in 1977. The exorcism was carried out on a dark moonless
night which was recorded as one of the most thrilling and horrifying experience
for its eyewitnesses. The former Public Relation Officer of SEEPZ was one of
the many witnesses who were a part of this whole incident. All the experiences were
recorded in his book: Ghosts, Occults &
Exorcist: True and Real Experiences. Quoting his experience as below:
“As the priest read lines from the Bible, we
first heard manic laughter, and then loud wailing. The sobbing of the unknown
voice finally stopped, and suddenly there was a loud splashing sound from the
pond next to the church. Everything then fell silent. The next day, all the
fishes in the pond were found dead and floating on the surface’’
According to the priest, the spirit was nearly 300 years old
which somehow inhabited the abandoned structure. But after the exorcism, it was
never seen or heard. The church is now a part of a very busy industrial
compound. But the remains still tell the 500-year-old stories: what it has
witnessed and what it has been through. Due to the fragile structure, people
are advised not to go near it. But the natives Christians still visit the
church once every year as a part of tradition. Only that day, the church sees
it being acknowledged.
It has been ages since this beautiful monument transformed
into horrible ruins but it is still standing, surviving, holding all the
secrets within, witnessing the harshness of time for many more years to come.
----- Nagendra Singh----
