Prabhu Jisur Girja Kolkata is also known as Lord
Jesus Church. It is one of the most prominent
landmarks in central Calcutta. It also belongs to a
select group of one of the very few tallest churches
in the city. The church is almost 162 years old. HISTORY : It was mid 19th century, Rev. Dr.
Alexander Duff and members of the Free Church of
Scotland built this church in 1848 and named St. Margaret'
s after the Queen of Scotland. The church
was then also known as Wellesley Square Church. The original church building was designed by
Captain Goodwyn of the Bengal Engineers of the
East India Company. Unfortunately the church
collapsed the night before occupation in 1840. Later in 1848 the present church was erected at a
cost of £12,000. After Indian independence in
1947, the Scots returned to Scotland. The church
remained close and unused. Later, efforts were
made to sell off the structure and build something
else in its place. Demolition of this place of
worship started with elegant spire. After protests
and cases in the Calcutta High Court, the Trustees
of the Free Church of Scotland won the ownership
rights. From the Trustees, on 30th November
1968, the church was finally bought by the Jesuit
Fathers ( Society of Jesus ), who were involved in
the process all these years. After renovation it was
consecrated on 3rd August 1969 as "Prabhu Jisur
Girja". Since then it served as a substation parish
to St. Teresa's Church, Moulali, Kolkata; until on
27th July 2005, it got registered under the
Archdiocese of Calcutta as an independent parish,
with about 700 families. It is the only Jesuit parish
in the city of Calcutta. STATUS : This church is built in the beautiful Neo-
Gothic style. It measures 100ft X 70ft X 50ft with a
seating capacity for 600 people. It doesn't have a
single pillar inside the church. The altar stands
below the main spire which was 146ft high. On the
roof of the church there are 24 small spires, each
10 ft high. Above the entrance in the roof, is the
structure of the Burning Bush.
