of Bassein. At some time, a cross and a grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes was added. It is not known when the chapel was elevated to the rank of a parish church, but from the evidence, it seems to be some time before 1574. Subsequently, the parishes of Our Lady of Remedies at Remedy, Our Lady of Grace at Papdy, Mae de Deus (Mother of God) at Palle, Our Lady of Mercy at Merces and St. Michael the Archangel at Porim (Manickpur) were carved out of it (1574–1606). Sandor and the rest of the Vasai area were not disturbed by the intra-Catholic Padroado vs Propaganda Fide conflict, as the area remained firmly faithful to the Archbishop of Goa and refused to accept the authority of the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay and their successor, the Archbishop of Bombay. In 1886, the northern part of the Archdiocese of Goa was carved out as the Diocese of Damaon, including the Vasai, and it was only in 1928 that the two dioceses (Damaon and Bombay) were merged, so that the Vasai area came under the Archbishops of Bombay for the first time in 1928. At present, the parish of Sandor also serves the village of Saloli. The church celebrates its feast 9–15 December every year, and has a big feast in the evenings. The village of Sandor has now been made part of the Municipal Corporation of Vasai-Virar. Parish priests of St Thomas Church from the available records are as follows: Below is a list of assistant priests : Demographics India census, Sandor had a population of 8336. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Sandor has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 73%. In Sandor, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Church based charity/social organizations Started in 1971 under the leadership of Very Rev. late Msgr. Philip Tavares the then parish priest of the Church. This society is a part of Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Paris, France, an international organization of Roman Catholic lay men and women of all ages, whose primary mission is to help the poor and less fortunate. Founded in 1833 by Frederick Ozanam, a French lawyer, author, and professor in the Sorbonne University of Paris to help impoverished people living in the slums of Paris,