In 1979, with due permission, 5 acres of government land were acquired by Fr Charles J. Aranha, the then parish priest of Panir. With the sacrifices of the faithful—often referred to as their “bread and butter”—Fr Charles built a small chapel along with space for a cemetery.

In 2006, this chapel was elevated to the status of a parish.

As years passed, the chapel deteriorated, facing issues such as water leakage, poor ventilation, limited space, and a weak ceiling. Yet, the faith of the people remained vibrant and their numbers continued to grow. Their long-cherished dream was to build a worthy place of worship.

On 10 August 2018, the feast of their patron St Lawrence, this dream took a concrete step forward as the foundation stone for the new church building of St Lawrence Church was laid by Most Rev. Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop of Mangalore.

On this occasion, Fr Michael D’Souza CMF, the parish priest, highlighted the struggles of the local community and appealed to benefactors and well-wishers to extend their generous support for the noble cause of building the church.