History of CJs in India

The Delhi Provincial house was established on 5th February 2007 at Nainital headed by Sr. Mariella CJ as the first provincial superior. In view of shifting the office from Nainital to Delhi a small plot of land was bought on 11th December 2009. On 26th April Most Rev. Archbishop Vincent Concessao blessed and laid the foundation stone in the presence of Sr. Mariella the provincial superior and a few sisters of the province. Countless trips were made from Nainital to Delhi by Srs. Mariella and Pratima to consult, finalize and to supervise the work and it bore fruit when the house was ready to move in by October 2013.

7th October 2013 was a memorable day for Delhi Province – JESU BHAWAN became the provincial’s office. The first community of Jesu Bhawan were – Sr. Pratima, Sr. Alice, Sr. Amata and Sr. Sanjita. At present the provincial house holds all the meetings, seminars and various programmes for the whole province during the year. It is also a place of welcome for everyone from the COIN who passes through Delhi.

Mother Salesia Reiner, the then superior of Patna planned a foundation in Nainital, in the Kumaon hills in 1878. In late April 1878 she came to Nainital with 8 sisters accompanied by Bishop Tosi, the Vicar Apostolic of Patna. By the close of 1878 the school had 40 boarders and a number of day scholars. During those months the superior realized the necessity of buying an estate where a convent and a school could be built. Eventually Ramnee Park, the property of General Sir Ramsey was bought.

Slowly the school grew and developed under the able guidance of the sisters and teachers. The present community reaches out to the school and boarding fulfilling the goal of our mission here in Ramnee. The school has 1200 students out of which 260 are boarders. Through USM (Universal Solidarity Movement), LTS (Leadership Training Service), LGL (Little Guiding Lights) and FMW ( Friends of Mary Ward) we reach out to many underprivileged of the town. Along with this English medium school we run a small Hindi Medium school side by side to help the poorer sections of the society. St. Mary’s Ramnee provides financial support to this school.

Jeolikote is situated in the foothills of the Himalayan ranges, 18 km away from Nainital and 18km above Kathgodam. In 1896, the first Capuchins in Jeolikote invited the CJ sisters to help them in their relief work when famine stricken children in great numbers and crowds of poor people pressed around at their mission door. Two daring sisters from Nainital St. Mary’s came to Jeolikote and took their abode in a hut which they had managed to procure. The sisters had a herculean task to induce 75 orphan girls to learn any useful occupation. Due to the first World War the convent was locked up and remained closed till 1921 when Mother Berchmans started afresh and a school was opened in 1928 with 20 pupils.

At present the community is consisted of 10 members. Besides formal education the sisters take care of a small dispensary. The C.C.F (Christian Children’s Fund) project has helped to establish self-help groups. The project had motivated, initiated and trained the people through various programmes aimed at empowerment of women.

Established in 1913, St. Francis’ Convent is situated in peaceful, almost secluded corner of Jhansi Cantonment area bordering on railway land. It is also strategically situated barely 2 km away from the railway station. An important historical monument, the fort of Jhansi is about 4 km away.

The school run by two catholic ladies was given up to the diocese and at this juncture, the Bishop of Allahabad concerned about the welfare of his flock in Jhansi turned to the Administrator of CJ sisters in India asking her to take up the school. On 21st April 1913, the school opened under the new management with 15 pupils on roll. At present the strength of the school is 3000 above. The sisters take care of the education and well- being of the students and doour best to impart the values of the Just Soul through various activities, seminars and programmes conducted in the school.

Nirmala Convent was originally known as St. Philomena’s Convent. Msgr. Francis Xavier French approached the superior of St. Francis’ Convent asking her to open an orphanage and school in Garhia Phatak, for the benefit of the children of the surrounding area. Thus Philomena’s Convent, school and the orphanage came into existence in 1945. The pioneering members were, Sr. Elfriede as superior, Sr. Anthony , Sr. Geralda, Sr. Michael and Sr. Kunigunde.

In 1961 the name of the school was changed to Nirmala Convent. The school is up to 12th class and it is affiliated to the U. P. Board of Examinations. The boarding is for the poor catholic girls who are not able to go to school because of the distance as well as financial difficulties. There are 15 girls in the hostel. In 2012 Nirmala Convent started Mary Ward Pre-School, LKG in English medium for girls with Sr. Patricia is in charge of this Mary Ward Pre-school. Due to some inconveniences and lack of space we had to discontinue this Mary Ward School.

Mauranipur is one of the very backward areas of Jhansi District, which is part of Bundelkhand region. St. Mary’s convent is situated in Nai Basti, in the western part of Mauranipur. The need to open a mission here was felt by the diocese of Jhansi. Rt.Rev. Bishop Frederick D’ Souza invited the CJ sisters to take up this mission. On 20th June 1987 the first group of sisters arrived to take care of the mission. The pioneers were Sr. Ildephonsa, Sr. Salome and Sr. Gracy.

The school is under the diocese of Jhansi; the inauguration of it was on 17th August 1987 and with this the dream of having a good educational institution in this area was finally realized. The present community consisting of three members teach in the school and take care of the parish activities too.

Maria Ward Bhawan is situated in the beautiful trans-Yamuna area in MayurVihar, Phase III, Pocket C, SFS Flats. It was a long cherished dream of then Allahabad province to have a house in Delhi, which became a reality on 25th January 1996, when the late Archbishop of Delhi, Most Rev. Allan de Lastic invited the provincial superior to send her sisters to open a school in Delhi.

The Pioneers of this community Sr. Coletta, Sr. Adelaide, Sr. Shobita and Sr. Selma facing the usual difficulties of a new mission began the school on 15th April with 115 students. The financial administrator of the diocese worked hard and purchased the land in MayurVihar on which the school stands today. Education is our main ministry, we work in this school which comes under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Delhi. At present the community consists of three members. The strength of the school is above 3000.

It was the great vision of our Bishop emeritus, Rt. Rev. Ignatius Menezes to have a church and a convent for the Catholic families residing at Falna, (Pali Dt.), of Rajasthan. This great dream of the then Bishop became a reality in March, 2006. The pioneering members were Sr. Rinalda the Superior, Sr. Elaine and Sr. Sanjana. 15.08.2009 was indeed a dream come true for the diocese of Ajmer and the Sisters of the Congregation, Delhi province. The first church and the convent at Falna was blessed by the then Bishop of Ajmer, Rt. Rev. Ignatius Menezes. The church was named as “Our Lady of Lourdes Church” and the Convent was named as “Mary Ward Niwas”. Over the years many priests and our own dear sisters have rendered their selfless, dedicated and valuable services to bring up this mission from nothing to its present state.

We lovingly remember and appreciate all that was done by our predecessors. At present the community consists of 3 members. Three of us are fully involved in the activities of the Parish and the school. At present there are 11 families in our parish who are very regular to the church and church activities. The school has obtained the CBSE status and is doing well in this area.

April 9th 1998 the foundation stone was laid for the health centre. On 20th Jan 1999 the centre was blessed by Bishop Isidore in the presence of Bishop Frederick D’Souza. The opening ceremony was conducted by late Sr. Roseline cj by cutting the ribbon. In 2010 a new hospital building was constructed with staff residence. The pioneers were Srs. Julita, Suchita, Shanti and Sushmita. The new hospital is equipped with all necessary departments like pathology, X-ray ultrasound and other facilities including operation theatres which are a blessing for the people especially rural folk of this area. The health centre has 2 visiting doctors -a gynaecologist, one physician and a BAMS doctor and a surgeon on daily basis.

Maternity cases and general surgeries take place daily. Health Centre is well managed by the professionally qualified sisters. The Hospital is also linked with RSBY (RashtriyaSurakshaBhimaYojana) of Central Government which is a medical insurance scheme to support the poor people of the rural area. Under this scheme, SMART CARD holders can get free treatment up to 30000/- which is reimbursable to the Health Centre by the government. The hospital is well equipped and well developed and has maintained good sanitation in and around.

On 16th February 2015 our first C.J. School was opened in Aurangpur village, JhajjarDt. Haryana. The pioneering community consistedof Srs. Digna, Mary John and Alka; Sr. Digna as the first animator of the community and Sr. Mary John as the first Headmistress of the school. Since the convent was not constructed we were residing in Jesuit’s residence. They were kind enough to give us four rooms with all the facilities. Fr. Joseph Kochupurackal looks after the whole project.

Our School is situated in Aurangpur village – 12 km away from Jhajjar city in Haryana state. It is a historical place and well connected by roads with other towns. We began the school on 7th April 2015 by the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Fr. Joseph Kochupurackal S.J. The tiny tots of LKG, UKG and Class - I came in holding tightly to the hands of their parents. In the evening we take tuition for the children of the neigbouring schools. Since there are no teachers for English in this area, it is a great help for them. We have also started visiting homes of our pupils.13th April 2018 is another milestone in the history of Jajjhar. The community was privileged to have the new convent building blessed in the presence of Bishop, priests, CJ sisters, religious from the area, teachers, friends and well- wishers.

St. Joseph’s Convent, Puranpur is situated about 100 km. away from Bareilly. Fr. Salvadore D’Souza started this mission in 1990 in an old rice mill. In 1991 the CJ sisters were invited to help in the school and other pastoral activities. On 29th June 1991, our pioneers Srs. Margarita, Anne and Archana began their ministry there. They began their mission in the same rice mill and part of it became their residence. On 4th July 1992 the sisters shifted to their new convent. At present the school is up to class 12. At present the community consisting of three members actively carry out our mission of education in the school. We take care of the parish and the church singing. We visit the homes of our students and the villages too. In our own way we are trying to bring the values of Christ in the school.

Nainital Ramnee community had a long cherished dream of opening yet another mission in Uttarakhand, particularly in the green belt of Rudrapur. 8 acres of land was purchased in Lalpur and efforts were being made to translate the dream into reality. Finally after much hard work, struggles and frequent trips to and fro, the dream began to take concrete shape by June 2015. The construction of a two-storied school building was partially done; the rooms on the ground floor – a few class-rooms that would be immediately required, the administrative block, part of which were converted into temporary residence for sisters - reached near completion by May 2015.

As the date for opening of the school was fixed for July 1, 2015, we decided to have the official blessing of the school and inauguration of the new mission in Rudrapur, Lalpur on 2nd June 2015.The pioneering community consisted of Sr. Assunta, Sr. Rayna and Sr. Joseline. The school began with just 21 students; now it has grown up to 105 students in UKG, classes I and II.7th August 2017 will remain a land mark in the history of the Delhi province when the new Convent building at Rudrapur was blessed and inaugurated by Rev. Anthony Fernandes, Bishop Emeritus in the presence of many priests, sisters, well-wishers and friends. The small school is growing year by year and the sisters make great efforts in educating and caring for the little ones.

The candidate house is in the same campus of Nirmala convent Jhansi. In 2007 when Delhi became a province, the existing formation house was renewed and on 16th July 2007 it was blessed by late Rev. Frederick D’Souza the then bishop of Jhansi. We began the ‘Come and See’ programme for the first 5 candidates with Sr. Deepa as their mistress and Sr. Deepti to assist her.

In the initial period they learn English, Hindi, Bible stories, catechism, life of Mary Ward and St. Ignatius in short; besides this they are taught harmonium. They take active part in the Church choir and parish activities. They pursue intermediate studies from our own Inter College and move forward in their next step in formation. From this year, 2018 the Pre-postulants from COIN are also in KristJyoti having their formation under the able guidance of their mistress.

21 st June 2006 is a golden letter day for the Allahabad Province. Sr. Mariette Purayidathil our then Provincial conceived the idea of starting a community in Rohini to collaborate with the Jesuits in their work of education and outreach programmes. This is the first house that is opened after we took the name ‘Congregation of Jesus’. The pioneering members were - Sr. Mary CJ as the head mistress of St. Xavier’s’ School, Sr. Marilyn CJ as a teacher in the primary section and Sr. Rosaria CJ as a helper in the LVI (LOYOLA VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE).On 21 st June, feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, during the Holy Eucharist Fr. John Ariappilly Provincial of Delhi Province officially welcomed the C J sisters to the new venture of collaborating with the Jesuits in the ministry of education, vocational learning and reaching out to the poor and parish ministry.At present the community consists of three members.