Holy Cross Church, Hospet

The Church of the Holy Cross at Hosabettu, called Hospet Church and in old records Bidrem Church, lies 6 kilometres from Moodbidri and 41 kilometres north-east of Mangaluru, amid dense forest. It is among the oldest churches of the Mangalore Diocese and the first in South Canara dedicated to the Holy Cross. Diocesan papers give 1761 as its founding, but Jain writings suggest a church stood here before 1648. When Tipu Sultan pulled down churches during the captivity of the Mangalorean Catholics, this one alone survived, owing to the good offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.

Fr A. Diamanti designed the present church, which had its foundation stone laid on 1 October 1905 and was blessed on 7 February 1909. It is Gothic in style and cruciform in plan, among the earliest in the diocese to follow that design. Coconut, areca and betel plantations, paddy fields, small lakes and hillocks surround the village.