By Sr Teresa Joseph fma –
On November 22, the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco danced into the 2nd Year of Preparation for FMA India Centenary of the Arrival of the First Missionaries (1922-2022). To mark this event there were two major initiatives. An Inter-Province Prayer Moment on 21 November 2020 at 6.00 p.m. led by Sr. Celine D’Cunha of Shillong Province on the theme: Accept the mandate: “I entrust them to you”, reviving the Family Spirit and strengthening Community Communion. On Sunday, 22 Nov.2020 at 6 p.m. there was a zoom meet to celebrate the Memories of our Pioneers with many Sisters, Teachers, Past Pupils, Family members and friends. This was organized by Sr. Hilda Braganza of the Bombay Province and the FMA India Media Team in collaboration with the 7 FMA Provinces.
The Inter-Province Prayer Moment
To mark the inauguration of the 2nd Triennial Year in preparation for Centennial Celebration- FMA India got every FMA community and each Sister and all the participants with lighted candles committing to pass on the light to the next generations. With grateful hearts, FMA India with all the members of the Salesian Family, our collaborators, young people and all those who are connected with us in one way or another rendered thanks to God for the marvels He has accomplished.
Missionaries of Hope and Joy
Right from the time of Don Bosco till today, there is an uninterrupted flow of missionaries in the Salesian Family, journeying to the peripheries of the World to bring hope and joy to everyone especially the young. St. Mary Mazzarello and the first community of Mornese was drawn into the missionary passion of St. John Bosco. Even the young boys and girls at Valdocco and Mornese wanted to go to the missions.
South India was blessed to have 6 FMA missionaries from Rome on 22 November 1922. On December 8, 1923 another missionary expedition of 6 missionaries set foot in North East India. The tiny fertile seed of the Salesian Charism nurtured so lovingly by Don Bosco; thanks to Mother Mazzarello and the fma began to grow with feminine characteristics typical of every woman: born to be sister, mother and friend. It was more than apt that from our hearts profound sentiments of gratitude rose to God’s throne for our pioneer missionaries, their audacity, freshness and readiness to become all things to all in the land of India.
From Mornese to every corner of the world
From that first mandate to Mother Mazzarello: “I entrust them to you”, God’s dream for the Institute of the Salesian Sisters began to take shape in the midst of every kind of hardship and challenge. The mandate: I entrust them to you from Borgo Alto in Mornese extended itself throughout the world and FMA India on the eve of the commencement of the historic 2nd Year of preparation for the Centenary of the arrival of the first missionaries listened to that mandate as a charismatic call that cuts across our very being especially in the midst of covid – 19 global pandemic challenging us to take care of all those entrusted to us in our educative mission.
Sr. Elizabeth George the Provincial of Shillong in her inaugural message spoke of: “I entrust them to you” and “Do whatever He tells you.” The way forward for us is to listen to our Blessed Mother’s words. In the present scenario we are running short of the wine of spirituality, the wine of respect, the wine of human justice, of freedom, of religious freedom, of tolerance etc. Sr. Elizabeth’s thought provoking question was: What about us? Do we have sufficient wine in our communities and in our families to make every day of our life a celebration with everyone who is entrusted to us especially young people? Do we have the wine of family spirit and community communion, the wine of generosity, forgiveness and compassion?
Cherishing the memories of our Pioneer Missionaries
Each day of the first year of preparation (22 November 1919 – 22 November 1920) FMA India journeyed with our pioneer missionaries Srs. Teresa Balestra, Maria Angeleri, CaterinaMarnetto, LuiginaAppiano, ConsigliaTarricone and Teresa Merlo. The book: Diamond Years Volume 1 by Sr. Mary Bout fma did offer fine details about their challenging love-filled mission in Tanjore, North Arcot, Broadway-Madras and the North East.
22November 2020 was a special day to celebrate the memories of our pioneers. The Zoom meet got connected a large number of participants. Sr. Margaret Amalanathan the President of the Provincial Conference of India (PCI) motivated all present with her talk that was short and crisp. (Talk attached)
Our beloved Mother General, Mother Yvonne Reungoat surprised us with her message.
Celebrating Memories of our Pioneers
Dear Sr. Margaret Amalanathan, FMA Provincials and Sisters of the Indian Provinces,
With all my heart, I share your joy and gratitude for the hundred years of our presence in your land.
The celebration of a Centenary is colored with a lot of gratitude for the many gifts received over the course of a century, for the gift of life and dedication of the Pioneers and all those who animated the world of youth, for the numerous vocations that opened the way for the extension of our educational service to the whole Country and the departure of many Sisters to other parts of the world as missionaries ad gentes.
At the same time, it is a joyful gratitude in the certainty that the future will be even more fruitful, generate more life and hope, because of the unfailing presence and assistance of the Holy Spirit and of Mary Help of Christians. Young people today need and will always be in need of educators and educators entirely dedicated to their good.
You begin the celebration of the Centenary in a difficult context due to the pandemic that is causing so much pain, so many deaths, so much economic damage in all parts of the world and which also affects the methods of meeting and sharing. But the situation was not easy either at that time in 1922: the First World War with all its aftermath of deaths and miseries had just ended. The “Spanish” pandemic had just come to an end. Your country lived the experience of colonialism …
Those first six FMA, whose most important biographical features you will recall today, were young, they did not know the language. But they left, certain of being able to count on the powerful presence of Mary Help of Christians, already well known and loved, thanks to the Salesians who were already in Tanjore from 1906.
1922, marked the celebration of the Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of the life of our Institute. We can think of our presence, the first in the East, was a gift of praise and thanks to Our Lady Help of Christians for the great things she had already done for her daughters!
In the course of these 100 years of our presence, the many young people, Christians and non-Christians of various cultures, that move around in your homes and Institutions, the large number of Past Pupils, proud of being so, the esteem of the Ecclesiastical and Civil Authorities, are an important sign of the fruitfulness of the Salesian charism in the Indian land.
From the arrival of our first six missionaries to today, the spirit of Valdocco and Mornese have marked ever more deeply our homes and our works, but also the people of this land, spreading above all the devotion to Mary Help of Christians. She is loved and prayed by all, Christians and non-Christians.
The spirit of Mornese, in these 100 years, has continued to develop, radiating light, a passion for the education of young people, girls and boys, especially young women.
Many of our Sisters, with their witness of life, their holiness, the dedication with which they freely gave all of themselves, have traced a significant path of human promotion and Christian maturity for those who have been educated in the spirit of Saint John Bosco and of St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello. They transmitted the spirit of Mornese to the new generations of FMA, they opened horizons of hope for the Christian and non-Christian youth. Continue to treasure this precious charismatic heritage with joy and responsibility.
It is indeed very significant that you have chosen the Feast of Christ the King to enter into the second of the celebrations of this Centenary of the arrival of the first FMA missionaries in your land. Today’s Gospel has reminded us that at the end of life we will be judged on love with which we accompanied our brothers and sisters in need.
And it was and it is love for all,that moved the six Pioneers and those others who followed in their footsteps, missionaries and Indians, so that this great and generous people could encounter Christ. They became sisters and mothers to each and every one by their very presence, announcing the Good News and trying to meet the material and spiritual needs of the people.
The presence of the FMA in India stems from the same appeal, directed to Mary Mazzarello for the mission to the young. “I entrust them to you”, the slogan for this year 2020/2021 in preparation for the 150th anniversary of the Institute.
Our Lady said it to the first FMA and continues to repeat to you “I entrust them to you”: an evident sign of her trust in you, of her love for the young men and women of this great country, who live in a context that is not always easy due to socio-political tensions, poverty, the spread of drugs and violence, but who, like Bartolomeo Garelli, like the first students of Mornese, seek only Educators who take care of them, who know how to welcome them as they are, and accompany them to the realization of the masterpiece that God has dreamed of for them from all eternity.
My wish is that you together, FMA and laity, young and old, Christians and non-Christians, continue, to look at the past with fidelity, to live intensely the educational needs of the present and prepare a future of hope for the new generations. This will make them capable of accepting our human existence as a gift and as a vocation, ready to assume the responsibility of building a civilization based on love, justice, peace and fraternal acceptance of the differences.
You are having these celebrations for the Centenary of our presence in India at this time, when Pope Francis calls us all to a renewed Global Educational Pact. It demands commitment. It is an explicit and strong appeal to forge an alliance with all those who care for education and to spend the best personal and community resources on it, to make Don Bosco’s affirmation our own: “In things that benefit the poor and frail youth, that serve to gain souls for God, I run ahead to the point of temerity”.
The celebrations of a Jubilee and more especially a Centenary, invites you to a renewed commitment of love and fidelity to the Institute and its mission. As you make your choices for the future, I recommend you that let your priority be working for Vocations and accompanying them. Care for the formation assuring quality for the future of the Salesian charism.
Listen to the call of the Lord to be missionaries ad gentes, bringing the light of the Salesian educative mission in India and all over the world. Missionary dimension is an essential aspect of our Identity. The generosity of missionary vocations is also a guarantee for the fruitfulness of vocations in your Provinces. I count on you, the Institute counts on you, the Lord counts on you and on your generous response to His invitation to be His missionaries to all people. I implore God’s blessings on each one of you.
May Mary Help of Christians, mother of tenderness, accompany you on your journey and may our Founders keep alive in you the enthusiasm of the “da mihi animas cetera tolle”.
With renewed affection and gratitude.
Rome, 22 November 2020
Sr. Yvonne Reungoat fma
Sr. Teresa Joseph, the General Coordinator of the FMA India Centenary Committee thanked Mother Yvonne and said: who else can understand the heart of the mission than you dear Mother Yvonne? As Sister, Missionary and now as our Mother General, your heart is vibrating with the “da mihi animas cetera tolle” of Don Bosco. With affection and gratitude, we assure you that FMA India is with you as you continue to dream for our mission spread over the world
In the company of our six Pioneers
Sr. Arockia Mary Selvi (INT) National Coordinator Social Development anchored the evening’s program. The divine moment by INM Province and the concluding Prayer by INC Province did offer everyone present refreshing moments of prayer and praise. FMA India’s voyage through the course of the Century (INS) was prepared by Sr. Euginia Laloo (Youtube).
The creative presentations of the life of Sr. Teresa Balestra (INM),Sr. Maria Angeleri (ING), Sr. Caterina Marnetto (INT), Sr. LuiginaAppiano (INB), Sr. Consiglia Tarricone (INK) and Sr. Teresa Merlo (INS) showcased a lot of hard work put in by our temporarily professed Sisters accompanied by their Sister animators. The vote of thanks was creatively done by our ING Province.
Please click to participate in: Novena Sr. Mary Mazzarello pdf