Sangli Mission is one of the three mission regions of the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle. The Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle (MST) is a Catholic Missionary Institute and its head office is at Melampara, Kottyam District, Kerala State, India. The Society was founded by His Excellency Mar Sebastian Vayalil, the first bishop of Palai diocese on 22nd February 1968.


It is the first missionary society of Syro Malabar Church which is established by St Thomas The Apostle who reached India in AD 52. Syro Malabar church is the second largest oriental catholic church.

MST has gained the status of a Society of Apostolic Life of Major Archiepiscopal Right on July 3rd 1997 It was Granted by the Major arch bishop His Beatitude Varky Cardinal Vithayathil Today there are 39 MST priests and 44 sisters in the Society and 165 seminarians at various stages of formation. Our members are engaged in pastoral, missionary and various humanitarian activities in different parts of the world. In India, the apostolate is being carried out in three regions (known as MST’s mission regions) in three different States.
They are:
1) Ujjain Region (Diocese) in Madhya Pradesh State
2) Mandya Region in Karnataka State
3) Sangli Region in Maharashtra State

Administration the Society is done by the director general assisted by the general council. Present director general is Very Rev. Fr james Athikalam. Regions are administered by the regional directors who represent the director General in the mission assisted by the regional councilors.

In order to provide pastoral care to the migrants from Kerala who belong to the Syro Malabar church in their own liturgical and ecclesial tradition, a new diocese was formed in Maharashtra named Diocese of Kalyan

In the wake of the erection of the diocese of Kalyan on 30th April 1988, the Missionary Society of St Thomas volunteered to share the pastoral and missionary responsibilities of the new diocese, comprising 16 civil districts co-terminus with the Archdiocese of Bombay and the dioceses of Pune and Nashik. Mar Paul Chittilapiily first Bishop of Kalyan diocese formally entrusted to the MST ‘Sangli Mission Region’ comprising four civil districts viz., Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, on 1st May 1990. Present bishop of Kalyan Diocese is Mar Thomas Elavanal.

The first mission station in Miraj was started in a small shed which also served as the regional House . From there, under the guidance of the first regional director Fr George Kavukatt various mission stations were started in different districts. During the time of the second regional director Fr Peter Kaumpuram Regional House was shifted to Kolhapur. With the support from Mission he purchased an Old building and added few more rooms. Till today it serves as the regional house. Further progress was achieved during the tenor of the third regional director Fr Mathew Moothasseril.

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