Krishnapuram, a remote village in the district of Anantapur, though it looks ordinary in every sense of the word, has a unique place in the history of the Andhra Catholic Church as well as in the history of the Jesuits in the pre-suppression era. As the Jesuit missionaries set foot first in Andhra in the early 18th century at Krishnapurarn built a house and a big church there, and reaped a great harvest for the Lord by receiving a number of people of all castes into the Kingdom of God, thus establishing a flourishing Church in Andhra. Krishnapuram is called the ‘cradle of the Andhra Church’. Thanks to the interring of the mortal remains of Sanjivanadha Swamy, Shourinadha Swamy and Divyanadha Swamy, the land of Krishnapuram became more holy and sacred, not only for the Catholics but for all the others too. It is they, who are non-Catholics, built and re-built the holy graves of these missionaries, including a Collector of Anantapur in the British regime, and preserved them till today, intact. To pay humble tribute to these valiant sons of St. Ignatius and the great missionaries of the Carnatic Mission, the Jesuits of Andhra Province have once again thought of coming to the very place which they left for varied historical reasons centuries ago and took inspiration from them for our Mission in Andhra. Hence, in 1992, Fr. P.S. Amalraj, Director of Hindupur Mission, bought 84 cents of land around these holy graves and also inherited one-fourth of a share In the historical ‘Mattmi Bavi’ (Church well) for a future base at Krishnapurain. Fr. Vatti Joji was appointed in May 1995 as the first Parish Priest of Krishnapuram. Initial contacts were made in and around Krishnapuram with the help of local friends, and they played a great supporting role in our evangelization and spiritual endeavours. His Lordship, late Gorantla Johannes, Bishop of Kurnool, laid the foundation stone for the Sanjivanadha Swamy Shrine and the presbytery on 23rd November 2002 in the presence of Priests, Nuns and a large gathering. Mr. Joseph, an architect from Bangalore, who designed the Cuddapah Cathedral, gave us a design which suits the lifestyle and the time of the Camatic Mission to the Shrine. At the request of the poor old people, and on the occasion of the 333 birthday of Sanjivanadha Swaniy, Annadanam for 50 old people was started once again on 23rd July, 2003. On 15th July 2003, Fr. Provincial blessed the newly-built Presbytery and it was inaugurated by Mr. Dash Ramappa, 95 years, who is the oldest in the village as well as a village elder,and by Mr. Shankar Narayan Reddy, 84 years, who was the village head for about 60 years, and from the family who gave strong support and protection to our Carnatic Mission Jesuits three centuries ago. Regular Eucharist is offered every Sunday at the Shrine. To mark the inauguration of the Tri-Centenary Jubilee Year in 2003, 40 Jesuits made a pilgrimage to Krishnapuram Shrine on 3″ December 2003 to pay their respects and draw inspiration from there. A Telugu booklet about the Carnatic Mission written by Fr. Vatti Joji was released by Fr. Provincial on that occasion. A Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was blessed and inaugurated by Fr. Allam Sleeva on 11th February 2004.
Fr. Stephen Amalraj Antony SJ is the parish priest of Sanjeevanatha Swamy shrine.
Fr. Antony Santiago is the Assists the Parish Priest.
This is a holy place. To cater to the educational needs of the surrounding back ward villages an English medium school has been started by Jesuits a few years ago. Sister of JMJ help us in this mission both in the school as well as in the shrine activities.
English medium school
Address
Sanjeevanadhaswamy Nilayam
Sanjeevanadhaswamy Shrine
Krishnapuram
Bukkapatnam
Anantapur – 515159
Tel:08555-283265
