By Sr. Teresa Joseph, FMA
In a significant development, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice (FMA) fondly known as Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, ushered in a three-year preparation for the Centenary of FMA’s presence in India to mark the arrival of the six pioneer Missionaries who set their foot for the first time on 22 November 1922 in Tanjore, which is in the present southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu.
The Salesian Sisters of India, after days of prayer, dialogue and planning, are all set to rekindle and relive the missionary impulse of the origins as they embark upon a three-year preparation to celebrate the Centenary of the Arrival of the First Missionaries to India. ‘With Mary Through the Course of the Century (1922-2022) and Beyond’ is the theme that will accompany them.
From the First Missionary Expedition to Many Others
14 November 1877 marked the beginning of great missionary expeditions in the FMA world. It was the strong missionary impulse that reigned in the first community of Mornese with St. Mary Mazzarello as their animator, that determined the departure of six young FMA:Srs.
Srs. Angela Vallese (23)
Giovanna Borgna (17)
Angela Cassulo (25)
Angela Denegri (17)
Teresa Gedda (24), and
Teresa Mazzarello (17)
Some of them had made profession just a few weeks before their departure and none of them had made their Perpetual Profession. Thanks to that missionary zeal, India too had the joy of receiving our first pioneer missionaries.
How Marvelous Are God’s Designs
God’s designs are revealed lovingly and gradually. Sr. Giselda Capetti, in ‘Onwards in the Course of A Century‘, from the First Special General Chapter to the Golden Jubilee of the Congregation 1907-1922 III, In the East: First Foundation in India, pages 188-194 expresses beautifully: “It had to be the Jubilee Year, that would throw open the portals of the Orient to its missionaries.” […] “India was ripe for our missionaries and they set out for its shores towards the close of 1922, sealing the Jubilee Year with the fruits of that great missionary effort promoted by the Pope of the Missions – Pope Pius XI. Successive foundations in the Far East would spread from here” (p. 188).
In The Midst of Letters and Visits
When God has something in mind, He finds worthy human beings who will bring to completion His plans and designs. Mother Daghero was receiving letters from Fr. Giorgio Tomatis ever since 1917 at the request of his Archbishop, pleading for Sisters to come and labour among the people in Mylapore diocese in the neighborhood of the central part of the city of Chennai (then Madras), India. In 1919, Mother Daghero got letters from the Archbishop of Madras for foundations in his diocese. In 1921, Mons. Teutonio Ribeiro Vierra de Castro who had known Don Bosco personally had occasion to visit Turin and to meet Mother Daghero. He warmly supported the repeated invitations of Fr Tomatis and requested again a group of Sisters for Tanjore to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Congregation. Fr. Mederlet wrote again on the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians in 1922 urging for the missionaries arrival in the Jubilee Year. […] If this mission becomes a reality in 1922 it will mark a new epoch in history! Mother Daghero on 14 July 1922 sent the reply informing Fr. Mederlet that she hoped to have the Sisters ready to travel with the Salesian expedition which would leave for India within the year.
With Sentiments of Profound Gratitude
Theme: With Mary through the Course of the Century (1922-2022) and beyond …
2019-20
Give thanks: “Let us truly thank the Lord who gives us many graces” (L 37,10)
Living our FMA Identity with Gratitude
2020-21
Accept the mandate: “I entrust them to you.”
Reviving the Family Spirit and strengthening Community Communion
2021-22
Plan the future boldly: “Courage! Let us go ahead with a great and generous heart” (L 47,12)
Prophets and witnesses for a transformed society in the style of synodality.
The President of the FMA Provincial Conference of India (PCI), Sr. Margaret Amalanathan, FMA in a video presentation said: “Trusting in the maternal assistance of Mary Help of Christians, courageous accompaniment of our saintly Founders, committing ourselves … to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, I am happy to launch open the triennial preparations for the celebration of the centenary of our presence in our Motherland India, from the Valponasca window replicated in Tanjore, the land in which our pioneers sowed the Salesian Charism.”
The Salesian Sisters are grateful to God for the gift of the Salesian vocation and for the six pioneering Missionaries who brought the FMA Charism to India. “During the three years of preparations we will pray, study, reflect, organize seminars on missionary work and hold pilgrimages to the communities where the missionary planted the seed of the Salesian Charism. The aim of these three years celebration is the spiritual renewal of each and every FMA. With Mary through the Course of the Century (1922-2022) and beyond…”
Sr Teresa Joseph, FMA is a Salesian Sister of the Bombay Province. She holds a masters degree in Science of Education with specialization in Catechetics from Auxilium Rome and a PhD in Missiology with specialization in Inter-religious Studies from the Gregorian University Rome.
Sr Teresa is a freelance writer and contributes articles for various journals in India and abroad. Her recent publications include Dream Big Dream True and Family of Truth: The Liminal Context of Inter-Religious Dialogue. She has launched and co-edited an animation book for the family titled Stay Connected in the Circle of Love (2007).
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