By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Panaji, March 2, 2024: The Daughters of St Paul, a global order, are celebrating the 60th death anniversary of Venerable Mother Thecla Merlo, the congregation’s co-founder with various activities.
Dedicating her life to evangelization through Media of Social Communications Mother Thecla, as she was known, used to tell her sisters, “Give wings and feet to the Gospel.”
The Daughters of St Paul in India are celebrating her anniversary with a program entitled, “Empowering the Students through Media Education — a critical imperative,” for the heads of schools and colleges in the Archdiocese of Goa-Daman.
Sister Celine Sebastian, superior of the local convent, said they have so far reached out to three schools and one parish in Panaji, Goa capital, with the themes “The ABC Principles for Personal Care in the Digital Era, and Youth and Media.”
In Shillong archdiocese in northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, the nuns visited families of Umkadhor parish and distributed free copies of the Bible to 120 families during the Sunday Mass, said Sister Shalini, the animator of the community.
Indian provincial Sister Matilda D’Souza pointed out that Mother Thecla had offered to act as Prophetess Anna in “Mater Dei” (Mother of God), the first Italian color film by the Sanpaolofilm production studio.
“She would have been very active in social media if she were alive today,” the provincial said introducing the enacted Way of the Cross her nuns are conducting in Bombay archdiocese.
Barring two parishioners, all actors in the “Mary’s Way of the Cross” are sisters and candidates of the congregation, Sister D’Souza said.
Sister Matildarose, the program organizer, said they have presented the Way of the Cross in five parishes since the beginning of Lent. “We have invitations from 14 parishes. We have also presented in the cathedral at Nasik,” she added.
The congregation also distributes to the faithful a prayer for the canonization of Mother Thecla.
A booklet “Praying the Rosary with Venerable Sr Thecla Merlo,” prepared by the congregation’s headquarters in Rome in five languages, has reflections from the saintly nun’s writing on each of the five mysteries of the Rosary.
On February 5, the 60th anniversary Sister Thecla’s death and the 30th anniversary of the Pauline trademark, the Nova Opera Agency undertook the creation of the new institutional logo and the restyling of the Pauline Publishing trademark.
A modernized visual identity has been introduced for both the Daughters of Saint Paul and Pauline Publishing highlighting the nuns’ renewed commitment to proclaim the Gospel as innovators by vocation.
The latest version of the publishing trademark is a restyling of the Pauline trademark launched in 1994, which intends to continue to respond to the mission of Pauline Publishing: To speak to the men and women of today in a language that is up-to-date, simple, immediate and essential.
Mother Thecla’s 30th death anniversary was celebrated by opening 15 new communities worldwide.
Sr Thecla was born in Castagnito, Italy, on February 20, 1894, as the second of four children. She joined the Daughters of St Paul in 1915, the year it was formed. She died on February 5, 1964, in Ariccia, 25 km southeast of Rome. She was proclaimed Venerable on January 22, 1991.