Priest’s book a tell-tale of Mumbai’s Catholic past

The book is the result of long research on a number of sources.

Mumbai:  A senior Catholic priest of Mumbai archdiocese has come up with a book highlighting the life of the Catholic community in India's commercial capital Mumbai since the pre-Portuguese times.

Father Benny Aguiar, former editor of Examiner Weekly, has written the coffee-table book, titled "The Making of Mumbai." It shows Catholic life during the pre-Portuguese, Portuguese, the Maratha and the British periods.

With the help of pictures the book explains how for over thousand years Mumbai was an insignificant island off the Western coast of India when places like Kalyan, Sopara and Thane were flourishing centers with their own kingdoms.

This book is focused in on the Catholic past of Mumbai.

In the 1700, a conflict within the Portuguese rulers of Bombay caused a deep division in the Catholic community. This division arose between Padroadists and Propagandists. The book delves into the evolution of the Catholic community in Bombay.

It explains when and where the first Churches were built or renovated, and how the transition from one period to another happened. The transition from Portuguese to English to Maratha led to a decline and then to a revival and formation of a vibrant Catholic Community.

According to Father Aguiar the book is the result of long research on a number of sources, and many have contributed to it.