About Us
Who We Are
We are religious women dedicated solely to the proclamation of Jesus Christ and to the service pf people especially those who are at the periphery of the society with the motto, “GO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS”. (Mk 16:15)
Ours is the first indigenious Congregation founded in North East India on 24th October 1942 at Guwahati by His Excellency Ven. Stephen Ferrando SDB, the then Bishop of Shillong.
Began with six young girls, the Congregation is now richly blessed with over 1400 generous hearts belonging to 75 diverse ethnic groups from India, Myanmar, Nepal, Hawaii and Lesotho. We are women of faith and charity.
Our Founder - Venerable Stephen Ferrando.
Vision and Mission
We are missionaries and we exist to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and serve humanity especially the poor.
Mission: Our mission is to continue the salvific mission of Jesus Christ by closely following Him and proclaiming Him to the world.
Vision:
• To have personal experience of God and deepen love for Jesus.
• To become passionate missionaries and work for the salvation of souls
• To fulfill Founder’s vision
• To establish God’s kingdom by empowering the poor, marginalized, particularly women, girls and children.
• To build a civilization of love.
History
Since the Foundation of the Congregation, in 1942 the Shillong Province has continued to hold the distinction of being the Mother Province of the Congregation. From its earliest years the Congregation has been abundantly blessed with devoted and zealous members whose unwavering commitment and missionary spirit have contributed immensely to its growth and expansion and grown into a strong and flourishing community.
Back in 1988, considering the rapid growth and development in number and territorial expansion, the Fourth General Chapter became the epoch- making event with its decision to form three Provinces – the Province of Mary Help of Christians, Shillong, St. Joseph’s Province, Tezpur and Sacred Heart Province, Tinsukia for better growth and administration. It was a turning point in the history of the Congregation, a milestone towards better growth and administration.
Thus, 13 February 1988 scripted a new story in the book of the Congregation as the Province of Mary Help of Christians, Shillong was born with 23 houses and 123 members.
With the rapid and continuous growth of the province in both membership and mission stations, the 9th General Chapter of the Congregation, held in 2017, resolved to bifurcate the Shillong Province into two distinct jurisdictions – the Province of Shillong and the Province of Guwahati – so as to ensure more effective administration and to foster the continued spiritual and apostolic growth of the Congregation.
After the bifurcation, the province earnestly extended its missionary charism to new frontiers, establishing six new mission stations across the country. Currently, The Province comprises 37 houses across seven dioceses: Shillong Archdiocese, Aizawl Diocese, Nongstoin Diocese, Jowai Diocese, Punalur Diocese, Delhi Archdiocese, and Lucknow Diocese.
Shillong Province is a home to hundreds sisters belonging to various ethnic groups working with charismatic zeal in different mission stations near and far. We are blessed with many young and vibrant candidates in various stages of formation. Our presence is strongly established in 7 dioceses of 5 different states of the country. Missionaries are sent to overseas mission where the MSMHC presence are there.
Patrons
MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS
ST. JOSEPH
ST. DON BOSCO
Logo
“Go Proclaim the Good News.” (Mt 28:19)
The BIBLE symbolizes the Word of God, the assiduous meditation of which will nourish the mind of the Missionary Sister, strengthen her will, and form her heart to preach this WORD to the world. The ‘M’ with CROWN AND SCEPTRE represents Mary Help of Christians, the Principal Patroness of the Congregation. She is the special Protectress and the inspiration of the Missionary Sisters, their model and guide in their religious life and in their apostolate. The CROSS stands for Christ, who is the center of our lives, from whom we draw light and strength to carry out our apostolate. It also reminds the Missionary Sister of the crosses she must be ready to embrace in her apostolate as proofs of her love for Christ and efficacious means of saving souls. The WORLD symbolizes the field of the Missionary Sister’s apostolate, where she proclaims the Good News of Christ in order to draw all people to Him. The STAR represents Our Lady, ‘the Star of Evangelization’, to whose care the religious life and missionary activities of the Missionary Sister are entrusted.
Spirituality and Spiritual Directors
Fr. Attillio Colussi
God raises particularly gifted collaborators to work by the side of persons with a special mission. Fr. Atillio Colussi, the first spiritual director of the Congregation, was closely linked with the Congregation’s establishment and subsequent growth. The founder entrusted the young candidates to the care of Fr. Colussi knowing well that he would do justice to the task. Fr. Colussi was aware of the responsibility placed on him since Bishop Ferrando had to look after his flock scattered over a vast region and could not attend to the details of formation of the young candidates. With single-minded devotion, Fr. Atillio Colussi helped the founder to achieve the goals. His sincere and dedicated work of formation of the candidates bore visible fruits in the lives of the pioneers of the Congregation. One of the lasting monuments of his love for the Missionary Sisters is the Constitutions that he drafted, carefully capturing in them the missionary dimension of the Institute.
Bishop Ferrando often referred to Fr.Colussi as ‘the Father Pestarino of the Congregation’. Fr. Luciano Colussi sdb, describes him as ‘a Priest with a great heart’. “It was my joy and my responsibility before God, to help these young girls to realize their call to be missionaries,” Fr. Colussi recounted in later years. In the unavoidable absence of the founder who was busy in his missionary travels, the young members of the Congregation discovered a father in Fr. Atillio Colussi, to whom they could confide all their joys and griefs, their successes and failures. Even after his transfer to Calcutta, he was full of solicitude for the Missionary Sisters and kept himself informed about them and spoke of them to others as ‘my Sisters.’ Whenever the Sisters visited him at Calcutta he would show them same affection which he had for the pioneers of the Congregation. With his characteristic gaiety and cheerfulness, he deemed it a pleasure to be at their service. The Sisters, in their turn, lovingly treasured in their hearts his example and teaching.
An exemplary priest and Religious, Fr. Colussi was a zealous missionary and a lover of the poor. His simplicity and sincerity impressed people and attracted them to the person of Christ whom he proclaimed. He died on 2 November 1988, at the age of 81. The Missionary Sisters pay a rich tribute of love and gratitude to this valiant missionary whose guidance, interest and hard labour have contributed to fashioning the edifice of their memorable past.
Fr. Noel Joseph Kenny
When the Mother House and the Novitiate of the Missionary Sisters was transferred from Barpeta Road to Shillong in 1965, the founder desired to entrust the spiritual animation of the Congregation to a priest whose life was deeply embedded in spiritual values. Finding in Fr. N.J. Kenny, a rich reservoir of spiritual wealth, Bishop Ferrando appointed him chaplain of St. Margaret ’s Convent, Peachlands, on 20 February 1965. Right from the start, Fr. Kenny gave himself whole-heartedly to the task of directing and moulding the congregation and thus enriching the spiritual life of its members.
The past three decades have witnessed Fr. Kenny’s dedication and selfless services to the Missionary Sisters. He has made great sacrifices in updating the Constitutions of the Congregation in the light of the Decrees of Vatican II. He also prepared a commentary on the Constitutions and brought out a book entitled, A Way of Perfection. It was born out of his ardent love for the Congregation and his genuine interest in the sanctification of each of its members. He was instrumental in drafting the prayers contained in the prayer book of the Sisters, The Practices of Piety. The Congregation was privileged to have the inspiring presence of Fr. Kenny at all its General Chapters. He guided the deliberations of the Chapters and helped in formulating practical directives.
Fr. Kenny spared no pains in making himself available for regular classes on catechism, spirituality and religious life. One could find him joyfully going about his duties, administering the Sacraments, preaching, teaching, blessing, advising, encouraging and guiding both Superiors and Sisters alike. Like the wise builder in the Gospel, he laboured to lay the foundation of the spiritual life of the Sisters. His own religious life was a shining example for each of the Sisters to follow. His fidelity to duty, coupled with his deep interior life was radiated by his serene and jovial composure.
The sudden demise of Fr. Kenny on 8 November 1955, shocked and profoundly grieved the Sisters. They were totally unprepared to accept such an eventuality as Fr. Kenny was active even at the age of 85. He often mentioned that his mission in life gave him great fulfilment and ample reward. During his 30 years of service to the Missionary Sisters as their Spiritual director, he took fatherly pride in their overall growth and development. His commitment to God and to the people was an expression of a sense of fulfilment in the service of his Master. His sense of humour, simplicity of life, friendly and loving ways and his deep spiritual life have been a source of inspiration to all.
Formation
“The primary objective of the formation process is to prepare people for the total consecration of themselves to God in the following of Christ, at the service of the Church’s mission.” (VC 65) Formation aims at the transformation of the whole person. It is a path of gradual identification with the attitude of Christ towards the father.
Formation includes human, Christian, spiritual, religious, intellectual, apostolic, ecclesial, and socio-cultural dimensions. It is an on-going process, which is centered on the person being formed.Initial formation begins with the admission of the candidate to the Institute and lasts until the Final Profession. This has a decisive importance in the formation process because during this period the foundations are laid for making a positive response to the call of the Lord and remaining faithful to it. The stages of initial formation in our Congregation are: Pre-aspirantate, Aspirantate, Pre-Novitiate, Novitiate and Juniorate.
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