Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Madanthyar

The Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus stands at Madanthyar near Belthangady, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore. Until 1886 the area belonged to Agrar Church, whose priest came just once a year to bless the graves and houses. After the Concordat of that year, the people appealed to Bishop Pagani, who placed them under Fr Pascal Mascarenhas of Gaddai, and he offered Mass in a shed in 1887.

Francis Dsouza Prabhu of Kolkebail gave his large property to the new parish, and Fr Jacob Sequeira built the first church, which Bishop Pagani blessed on 29 January 1893. Fr Denis D'Souza later began a newer church, blessed in an incomplete state on 7 May 1940. The parish now has some 3,500 members. Fr Sequeira started a primary school in a shed in 1898, and its institutions have since grown to include a high school and colleges.