By Lalita Roshni Lakra
Ranchi, July 27, 2022: The first indigenous women religious congregation in eastern India has concluded its 125 years of founding through various programs at Ranchi, capital of the Jharkhand state.
Jesuit Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi July 23 presided over the jubilee Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state.
He was assisted by Bishops Vincent Barwa of Simdega, Binay Kandulna of Khunti, Anand Jojo of Hazaribag, Julius Marandi of Dumka, Fulgence Aloysius Tigga, Antonis Bara of Ambikapur concelebrated along with Father Linus Pingal Ekka, apostolic administrator of Gumla.
The Mass was also attended by 75 priests from various parts of India and some 800 members of the congregation representing all four provinces and the delegations of Andaman and Europe.
In his homily Archbishop Toppo commended the vigor and zeal of the Daughters of St Anne in serving God’s people. The jubilee theme was “Celebrating God’s Graciousness: Committed to Renewed Mission.”
“Today is the apt time to raise our hearts and minds in praise of God for all his merciful acts that we have benefited for last 125 long years,” the prelate said.
In the introduction to the Mass, Sister Mary Pushpa Tirkey, the congregation’s first general councilor, recalled how Jesuit Belgian missionary Father Constant Lievens arrived in the Chhotanagpur region in 1885 to preach the gospel and work for the emancipation of tribal communities.
The jubilee program included thanksgiving Adoration at St. Anne’s headquarters situated on Ranchi’s Dr. Camil Bulcke Path (formerly Purulia Road). The house preserves the mortal remains of the congregation’s founders – Servant of God Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, Sisters Cecilia Kispotta, Veronica Kispotta and Mary Kanil.
A candle was lit before the statue of St. Anne, the congregation’s patron saint by Sister Roseline Mallika Ekka, provincial of Jalpaiguri province.
The first women congregation to enter the region was the Loreto Sisters in 1890. The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk followed them 13 years later. Both the congregations helped train the members of the new indigenous congregation.
Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta and her three companions founded the congregation on July 26, 1897, in Ranchi with the permission of Jesuit Archbishop Paul Goethals of Calcutta.
The founders worked with priests and Loreto nuns during the 1895-1896 epidemics and famine. They did relief work with Loreto nuns, Jesuits and other priests.
The congregation continues its healing ministry through health care services. Its St. Anne’s Hospital and Research Centre was opened January 18, 2020, by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, during the Covid period, at Ulhatu, a Ranchi suburb, A school of nursing, attached to it, started on April 25, 2011.
Around 1,140 members of the congregation spread over four provinces are now engaged in evangelization, education of mainly girl children, health care and social work.
It also has 42 novices, 45 postulants and 77 candidates.
The congregation has 148 convents in seven archdioceses and 28 dioceses, beside Padua, Rome, Catanzaro and Venice
One of its members Sister Usha Manorama Tirkey now works in the Hindi section of the Vatican Radio in Rome. A member serves in the apostolic nunciature and another the Office of Tribal Affairs under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, both in New Delhi.
A short cultural program after the Mass at St. Anne’s School and Intermediate College premises, saw students of various schools managed by the congregation performing tribal traditional dances.
Five books were released on the occasion: Memoir of Mother Mary Bernadette in Hindi, Jubilee Souvenir – Mati Ki Beti (daughters of the soil), Spiritual Mentors of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Anne, Ranchi, From the Eyes of Well-Wishers and Benefactors and Lilies Born in the Soil of Chotanagpur.