CARMEL OF THE SACRED HEART, KANKANADY, MANGALORE.
If it is true that every Teresian
Carmel must be derived from one or more previously exiting Teresian
foundations, then, the Carmel of the Sacred Heart, at Kankanady, Mangalore, has
the honour of being the first Teresian
Cloistered Carmel on Indian soil. This first foundation was planned by
the last Carmelite Bishop of Mangalore, Mgr. Marie Ephrem, who transplanted
from southern France to India the life of Teresian contemplation. Bishop Marie
Ephrem, the only child of his parents had been ordained Bishop after having
served in Quilon, Calicut, Tellicherry, Cannanore and Mangalore and had gone to
Europe soon afterwards to take part in the First Vatican Council. It was then
that he made arrangements with the Carmel of Pau in France that some of the
nuns be sent to make a foundation in Mangalore, where he had recently been
appointed Vicar Apostolic.
The Carmel of Pau was ready to
offer six of its Religious for a foundation in the missions and the Bishop was
glad. The next problem that had to be tackled was the financing of the project.
They had to search for benefactors.
There happened to be at that time
in the community at Pau, an Arab Novice who was rather extraordinary. She too
was asked to pray in a special way that the problem of financing this
foundation in the mission might be solved. And something extraordinary
happened! A young girl appeared to the Novice, telling her that a certain
George whose daughter she was, would subsidize the project. When she reported
this vision to those in authority, they made every effort to verify who this
George might be, till they discovered that the girl who had appeared to the
Novice was Matilda who had died some
years previously, and her father was George count de Nedonchelle from Belgium!(Picture below) When the Sisters approached him, he was found most willing to meet the expenses necessary for the journey and the foundation. 
The next thing was to start. The
Bishop himself accompanied the six Sisters on the first leg of their long
trip-from Pau to Marseilles. At Marseilles three more Carmelite Sisters joined
them, and these were destined for the active apostolate. The bishop had foreseen
the needs of his diocese. He had understood that Mangalore was in need, not
only of a power house of prayer, but also a community to be involved in the
Christian education of youth.
The discalced nuns had to break
journey at Aden. Three of them were ill and the other two had to attend to
their sick Sisters. The “active” Sisters proceeded on their way to India in the
company of Fr. Lazarus OCD. One of the two Discalced Nuns, who seems not to
have been affected by the inclemency of the weather, was the extraordinary
Novice. After all she was an Arab! At
Aden Sr. Euphrasia expired after a few days. When Bishop Marie Ephrem heard of
the calamities that had befallen his little flock, he hastened from France to
catch up with them as swiftly as he could. He cheered them, and soon they were
once again sailing this time over the Indian Ocean. They reached Madras (Chennai
) and went on to Vellore where their companions were awaiting them and
altogether once again, they journeyed to Calicut. And here, Mother Elias became
very sick and departed this life on the 5th of November 1870, after
exhorting the Arab Novice to be obedient to her Superiors.
On 19th November, the
Sisters reached Mangalore after three months of travel and travail. On the way
three of their number had gone to their Reward- Stephanie in her twenties; Euphrasia,
in her thirties; the able and experienced Mother Elias, almost within sight of
Mangalore. The two professed Sisters and the extraordinary Novice were lodged
in the residence of the Tertiaries since the cloister had yet to be built.
Obviously they were too few to form a community. Mgr. Marie Ephrem therefore
wrote to the Bishop of Bayonne, France, for fresh recruits. And four Sisters
from the Bayonne Carmel accepted the
challenge and started for India. After a brief halt in Aden to visit the graves
of the Sisters there, they arrived in Mangalore in March 1871, safe and sound.
Shortly afterwards the extraordinary novice was joined in the novitiate by the
Sister of one of the tertiaries, to whom we have previously referred to as the
‘active’ Carmelites. Finally, on 21 November 1871 the first Carmelite to make
her religious profession on Indian soil was the Arab Novice Sister Mary of
Jesus Crucified.
BANGALORE CARMEL
PHOTO TAKEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF COIMBATORE.
BANGALORE CARMEL (1932)
OUR FOUNDRESSES(highlighted in bold)
In 1601, St. Teresa appeared to Madam Acarie, a deeply pious, mother of a large family, and told her that God wished her to found monasteries of the Carmelite Order in France. One of the Carmels inFrance was Cholet ,
which was founded with the intention of recruiting vocations, to be formed and
sent to the missions. In 1931, the Bishop of Mysore
/ Bangalore , Mgr. Maurice Despatures M.E.P.
requested this Carmel
to make a foundation in his diocese. Thus was founded the Carmel of Bangalore
on 29th January 1932.
CHICALIM CARMEL...FOUNDED IN 1947
THIRUVALLA CARMEL Founded in(1948)
OUR FOUNDRESSES(highlighted in bold)
In 1601, St. Teresa appeared to Madam Acarie, a deeply pious, mother of a large family, and told her that God wished her to found monasteries of the Carmelite Order in France. One of the Carmels in
CHICALIM CARMEL...FOUNDED IN 1947
THIRUVALLA CARMEL Founded in(1948)
MUMBAI CARMEL. Founde in 1964
NOVICES OF KURNOOL CARMEL. (1974)
PUNE CARMEL FOUNDED IN 1979
CARMEL OF MARY CAUSE OF OUR JOY AND OF ST. JOSEPH
CARMEL OF MARY CAUSE OF OUR JOY AND OF ST. JOSEPH
This Carmel in Vadodara, nestled in one of the cities of Gujarat, was born of a dream lodged in the heart of its first holy bishop: the Rt. Rev. Ignatius S. ’Souza in 1966 from the moment of his Episcopal ordination. Maybe it was the dream of our Holy Foundress St. Teresa of Avila too who was always overjoyed to place JESUS in a new tabernacle. However, it was only in 1975 that the Carmel of Andheri, Mumbai was able to respond when Mother Elizabeth of the Trinity with a companion Sister, (the niece of the dear Bishop) accepting the Bishop’s invitation travelled with him by road to Baroda, to visit sites. Finally and providentially on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, December 3, 1980 the foundation stone was laid by the Bishop, a sure sign that this was to be a missionary Carmel. An unexpected grace was the visit of the Superior General Fr. Philip Sainz de Baranda who on 19th April celebrated Mass at the site.
By the end of 1982, the construction was reaching its last phase when Mother Elizabeth was elected Prioress of Carmel Andheri, Mumbai and responsibility for the foundation was transferred to Carmel Chicalim, Goa who generously accepted it.
Sr. Marie Gemma [later elected prioress] headed the group of 8 Sisters.
On 15th Sept. 1983 the Carmel was blessed and inaugurated by the apostolic Pro Nuncio Rev. A. Cacciavillan. There is an interesting and symbolic feature in the location of this Carmel. It stands opposite the factory of the Novino, now Panasonic Batteries and daily thick black smoke emanates from its chimneys while from the belfry of Carmel peal bells for prayer and invisible white smoke rises like incense; a sign of what Carmel stands for – a constant pointer to God amidst this worlds seeming godlessness! From its inception the Carmel was lovingly cared for by the Bishop and his staff and the Sisters in turn inserted themselves whole heartedly into the local church making their own its joys, sorrows and concerns.
At Prem Jyot Carmel, everyone feels welcomed; for Christians and people of other faiths, it has become a well known presence – a presence that speaks of God’s love, compassion, understanding and acceptance and a presence of prayer. Through the year the guest rooms become “solitary places” for those seeking prayer and silence in times of retreat.
May God increase and multiply this flame of love – Prem Jyot to draw all people to Himself.
If HE the Great ALONE calls you to spend your life alone with Him and if you are drawn to pray for the people of this land of Gujarat and for the whole world offering your life as a living sacrifice of love as St. Paul says, you are most welcome to write to us or visit us here at the Carmel of Prem Jyot.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CARMEL OF ST. JOSEPH AND ST. TERESA
BOGADI, MYSORE – 570 026.
(1985)
The Carmel of St. Joseph and St. Teresa
situated at Bogadi, 6 kms. From the heart of the city of Mysore, is the first
of its kind in Mysore,.third in the state of Karnataka, seventh in the
O.C.D.Province of Karnataka- Goa and the
twenty fifth in India. Bishop Mathias Fernandes of happy memory had invited the
Carmel of Kottayam to make a foundation in his diocese, in the year 1970.They
could not accept it immediately, as they and already given nine sisters for the
foundation of the Carmel of Kottiyam.The Bishop had to wait for 12 years for
the Carmel of Kottaym to show interest in founding a Carmel in Mysore
In the year 1982 the Mothers of Kottayam
began to search for a suitable place to build the Carmel. They chose the place
that Fr.Joseph D’SouzaOCD, the then Provincial showed them at Bogadi.
On the 17th January, 1983, the
foundation stone was blessed by the Bishop and was laid by our Father General,
Philip Sainz de Baranda in the presence of our Carmelite Fathers and the CSST
Sisters who were of great help to us from the start. The building work was
guided and supervised by our Carmelite fathers
- Fr. Joseph D’Souza and Br.Baptist Rodrigues. The Prioress from
Kottayam used to come to visit the site as and when needed.
On December 2nd
1985, the first of five sisters who were destined for this foundation came to
Mysore.They were Mother Rosario Teresa of Jesus, Sr.Imelda of Jesus Mary,
Sr.Anne of
St. Bartholomew, Sr. Ines of
O.L.of Fatima and Sr.Mary Magdalene (Extern Sister) with Miss Maria Joseph,
(our aspirant who returned to Kottayam Carmel
for her postulancy in February ‘86)
They occupied the extern quarters the work of which was completed by
this time .The Capuchin Fathers were building their theologate next to our
monastery at the same time and they were of much help for us. As Bishop Mathias
was called to his eternal rest on the 9th May, the Diocesan
Administrator and Vicar General, Fr. Joseph Roy, blessed the outside quarters
and celebrated the first Mass along with Fr. Nemesio OCD, Fr.JosephD’souzaOCD
and Fr.Patrick Crasta OFM.Cap., in the improvised chapel. Since then until he
died as bishop of the diocese he came regularly for Mass to Carmel on the first
Friday of every month.
Our Carmelite fathers literally slogged for
this foundation. All the wiring and electrification was done by Fr.Jossy
Rodrigues and the Philosophy Students of Pushpashrama (specially Brs.John
Sequeira, Pius James D’Souza and Joseph D’ Souza –Junior) under the guidance of
Fr.Rudolf
By this time, dear Mother Rosario’s health
began to give way. Her cancer was spreading and she went to Kottayam for
treatment in April 1986 and remained there till July. The date of the canonical
erection was fixed for 20th December 1986.So five more sisters from
Kottayam arrived on the 19th December. They were Srs.Maria Teresa of
Jesus, Veronica of the Holy Face, Celine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Carmen Maria of St. Joseph (Extern Sister) and Maria of St.Joseph and St.Teresa
(Novice).Sr. Carmen Maria was to replace Sr.Mary Magdalene who returned to Kottayam.They
were welcomed with great love.
The
next day there was a lot scrubbing and cleaning. Our philosophy students from
Pushpashrama were of great help to us. By evening everything was ready for the
Eucharistic Sacrifice. So on Saturday, 20th December, at 3-30
P.M.was the blessing and the canonical erection of our monastery.Rev.Msgr.Joeph
Roy, the Diocesan Administrator concelebrated the Holy Mass with our Delegate
General, Rev. Fr.Nemesio Alzola OCD and many other Priests.
In the elections that took place on 18th
January, Mother Rosario Teresa was chosen Prioress and Srs..Imelda and Maria
Teresa were chosen first and second councilors respectively. As days went on,
Rev.Mother Rosario’s health was going from bad to worse. On Maundy Thursday she
was so sick that she was anointed. Later, she recovered a bit and we grandly
celebrated the Golden Jubilee of her Profession on16th May 1987.Our Mother
appreciated with much love and gratitude all that was done for her. On May 22nd
Mother Rosario’s condition worsened. She lost her power of speech and was in
agony. On the 25th morning in
the presence of her daughters and Fr.Patrick Crasta ofm.cap. our chaplain gave
up her soul to the Lord.
After Mother Rosario’s death,
there remained only five chapter sisters in our Carmel and so they asked for a
chapter sister from Kottayam Carmel but she (Sr.Sara Maria) arrived only in
January 1988.In the meantime Sr. Imelda presided over the community and
supervised the construction work. On the 2nd of June, Miss Sally
Joseph, our first postulant arrived. Our Fr.General’s visit on the 14th
of December was a source of comfort and great joy to the bereaved sisters.
On 23rd January 1988 Sr.Imelda was
elected Prioress with Srs.Maria Teresa and Veronica as 1st and 2nd
councilors respectively. By this time the construction of our enclosure wall
was completed and we had a little more privacy than before even though the
workers were all over. On 20th July we grandly celebrated the Silver
Jubilee of Sr.Maria Teresa’s Profession.
From August 1988 Mother. Imelda’s health
declined. She developed dry cough for which she was treated. On 3rd
October she had a severe heart attack but with treatment she looked better. On
the 5th of November Mother had a mild heart attack at 1p.m.and a
massive one at 4.30p.m.In spite of their efforts the doctors could not save her
life and Mother Imelda peacefully fell asleep in the Lord.
Now the community consisted of 4 chapter
sisters, 2 Novices, One postulant and one extern sister – all inexperienced and
strangers to Mysore.We felt helpless to continue our life here without the
support of our two mothers. Our Chaplain and confessor helped us to go on in
spite of the sorrow and void caused by their untimely demise. The good God
heard our prayers and tears when Fr.Joseph found one sister in the person of
Sr.Camelia of Jesus and Mary of the Carmel of the Bl.Trinity, Chicalim, Goa. Grown
up under the shadow and spiritual guidance of our Carmelite Fathers, she had no
misgivings regarding her call to Mysore Carmel as the will of God for her. In a
spirit of great generosity and sacrifice, the Carmel of Chicalim consented to
her leaving them to help the Carmel of Bogadi, sorely tried and tested. So it
was that she arrived at Bogadi Carmel on 16th February 1989 accompanied
by her Prioress – Mother Yvonne of the Child Jesus and our Fr.Delegate General,
ready for any service that take Lord may ask of her.
On the 11th March
1989,as settled before, our elections took place. Mother Camelia was elected
Prioress with Srs. Veronica and Ines as 1st and 2nd
councilors respectively.
Two postulants – Eliza D’Souza and Teresa Lobo
entered our Carmel this year. The work of building the choir and the chapel
went on and was completed in March 1990.
The blessing of the choir and
the chapel took place on the 19th of March, the feast of St. Joseph,
our Father and Protector. During the concelebrated Mass presided over by Bishop
Michaelappa
Sr Carmen Maria our extern sister made her
perpetual profession. All our friends, families and benefactors who could be
present that day were there for the function. They came even from far away Goa,
Mangalore, Kerala and Karwar.They were there to share our joy and render us
help.
Soon more postulants joined us and today we
are 17 sisters in all, including two extern sisters, one postulant and one
candidate.
We have known God’s
faithful love throughout these years
His oneness with us
in joys and tears
Endless times He has
helped us through
Has answered prayers
and given us strength anew;
To him our voice in
gratitude we raise
And for His blessings
give Him praise
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HASSAN CARMEL FOUNDED IN 1992
MALAYATOOR CARMEL FOUNDED IN 2009
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