Sister Freeda and Sister Pravina: We Tell You About Our Congregation
The Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Thomas: origins and charism
Sister Freeda and Sister Pravina are part of an extremely young congregation in so many ways. It was founded in India by Bishop Bishop Thomas Fernando, who promoted the spread of a religious order that took inspiration and example from the apostle Thomas. In fact, this disciple was the first, according to tradition, to bring the Christian message to India.
History of the Congregation
The congregation was officially born on February 11, 1978, in Fathima Nagar, in the Diocese of Trichirapalli. That very occasion was the celebration of the 19th centenary since the apostle’s arrival in the East. Christian India continues to have a very special veneration for St. Thomas. In the city of Madras, present-day Chennai, the saint’s tomb is preserved, housed within the basilica of the same name.
The Franciscan community originally developed as a diocesan institute. It was only after 21 years that Bishop Lawrence S. Gabriel, during his episcopate in Trichirapalli, approved the rules of the congregation. That was on Nov. 21, 1999. Subsequently, the Holy See recognized the women’s community as a Religious Institution.
The General House of the Sisters of St. Thomas is located in Fathima Nagar, in the Diocese of Trichirapalli, in the State of Tamil Nadu, one of India’s 29 federated states. In their homeland, the sisters enjoy the presence of 20 convents in different dioceses and a community in Anghiari at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the first and only one outside India.
Sisters’ activities
The main mission of the Sisters of St. Thomas is to proclaim the Good News to the poor and oppressed. Indian communities are among the most fervent in faith and zeal, which is also evidenced by the sisters’ tireless attitude of prayer and service as they daily care for the needy and lonely. “Our congregation is very active, not only with children, but also in caring for the sick.”
In fact, among the sisters, many are nurses and work every day in contact with the most defenseless, in dispensaries and hospices. Often it is not only material care but also, and above all, spiritual care. Almost all the facilities in which the sisters are present, are located on the outskirts of cities and towns; that is, in those places where the most marginalized of society are often and willingly encountered.
The sisters’ two main houses in India are dedicated to St. Thomas; the House of Mercy and the House of Love, where they house numerous children who are orphans or whose parents are unable to care for them.
In particular, the “St. Thomas House of Mercy” was founded in 1976 to house poor and orphaned girls. It was entrusted to the Franciscan Sisters of St. Thomas in 1987. To this day, the congregation cares for the guests of the residence by giving food, shelter and education to many needy young girls. Some of these, in addition to survival problems, have suffered violence and therefore need strong moral support. “We believe that commitment to the education of poor children is never a useless service: all children are the future of society, the country, the world at large and our Christian communities.”
The spirit and charism of the congregation
“We are the Franciscan Sisters of St. Thomas. The mission is to dedicate ourselves to the good of the poor and oppressed. That is why we preferably locate ourselves in the peripheries and not in the center. We take special care of education, looking to the Heart of Jesus. Children are our future. Before making disciples we must certainly, become disciples. One must first educate oneself.” Sister Freeda tells us.
A few words about the 3 vows or “evangelical counsels”
By professing a vow of chastity, a religious can devote all her attention to God, her true Bridegroom, a chastity made possible by grace and which was chosen, like Jesus’, to serve, in mission, the Kingdom of Heaven. In union with Christ, the simple, sincere and demanding life of consecrated chastity. Chastity thus becomes the gift of being configured to Christ.
Obedience is a vow that sees the divine will in the actions of the superior, called to be an instrument of God’s providential care.
By embracing virginity, we make Christ’s virginal love our own and confess it to the world as the only-begotten Son, one with the Father and the Spirit. All this with poverty that is above all the spirit of simplicity and service.
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- Sister Mary Freeda Varghees