Matters India Reporter
Siliguri, Decr 8, 2023: A group of Sisters marked 75th year of their arrival in India on December 8 at a solemn Eucharistic celebration and fellowship meal with fellow religious and well wishers.
Principal of Don Bosco School Siliguri, Father V.C. Jose along with seven priests and some 100 religious, teaching faculty of their school and neighbourhood faithful presided over the liturgy during which 19 Sisters renewed their religious commitment.
In Siliguri, the Sisters have their provincial house for northeastern India as well as a premiere girls’ school – Nirmala Convent School.
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate popularly known as Nirmala Sisters who celebrated their platinum jubilee is a branch of the Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), popularly also known as PIME Congregation.
The PIME family of religious men and women were founded at Milan in Italy in 1850.
The first batch of six PIME Sisters came to India in 1948 at the invitation of PIME Bishop Domenico Grassi of Vijayawada for health work assistance, particularly for maternity cases at Gudiwada mission health centre.
Unfortunately in less than 3 years two pioneers died and later 3 other sisters returned to Italy in their old age leaving alone Sister Ida Moiana who was known as Mother Teresa of Eluru, who died in 2015.
Today, Nirmala Sisters have four Indian provinces: Vijayawada and Hyderabad established in 1985, Siliguri (2005) and New Delhi (2009).
The Northeast India province based in Siliguri, started in 2005, has some 60 Sisters serving West Bengal and Manipur.
The Sisters are engaged in pastoral work, family counseling, educational activities, health work particularly with physically challenged, women empowerment initiatives, as well as work for the well-being and development of under privileged, particularly among tribal and marginalised people.