Community Vile Parle Mumbai

8/3/2019 Community Vile Parle Mumbai

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THE COMMUNITY AT VILE PARLE, BOMBAY

'The seed that was scattered in Springtime with labour and watered with tears and

the dew from on high; another may reap when the harvest is ready and gather the

grain in the sweet by and by.. Such is the history of every new foundation. The

same story may be narrated of the foundation ofSt. Joseph's Convent, Bombay.

It was in the year 1959 that Rev. Mother Anne, the Regional Superior of

Bangalore, was on her way to France as Delegate to the General Chapter. Stopping

in transit, at the Bombay airport of Santa Cruz, Mother Anne met Fr Rufus Pereira

(brother of Sr Aurelien). In the course of conversation Mother Anne happened to

mention that it would be nice to have a house in Bombay- a wayside inn- where our

Sisters travelling to and from France could break journey. A casual remark indeed.

But the Sower had already sown the seed. It was springtime!

The Parish of Vile Parle, a suburb of Bombay, to which Fr Rufus Pereira was attached,

had as its Vicar, Rev. Fr. Paul Cordeiro, a most dynamic personality! Picking up the

clue from his assistant, he approached His Eminence Cardinal Gracias and presented

the suggestion without delay. Even before Mother Anne could return to India, a

request for a convent to be opened at Vile Parle was addressed to the Superior

General, Mother Genevieve Marie.

New foundations are always a matter of serious consideration and the process

demands time- sometimes a very long time before the final decision is taken. But in

the case of the foundation of Bombay, the Seed had scarcely been sown when it

instantly stood waiting, as it were, to receive the rain of blessing of the Master. On

June 3rd 1960, just at the break of the monsoons there arrived in Bombay, Mother

Anne, bringing with her, a band of five 'labourers' in the person of Sr Mechtilde

DSouza (the Superior), Sr Benedicta Menezes, Sr Christine Rozario, Sr

Seraphine Menezes and Sr Anthony DSouza. After some time Sr Anthony wasreplaced by Sr Mathew Texeira.

As the accommodation for the Sisters was not yet ready at their place of work, St

Xavier's High School, Vile Parle, it was arranged that they stay temporarily at St

Theresa's Convent of the Order of Mount Carmel at Santa Cruz. Here our five Sisters


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received a warm welcome and the kind of hospitality and affection lavished on them

by their benefactors, will remain in the annals of the Institute as a memory of deep

gratitude, never to be erased.

During the first two years in Bombay, the Sisters served as teachers at St Xavier's

School under the Principal, Fr Paul Cordeiro, who may also be regarded as co-

founder of our Institution in Bombay. Then the Sisters moved into the quarters

prepared for them in the school premises, where His Eminence desired them to stay

till a suitable site could be found to open a school of their own, which would cater for

the girls of the locality. All efforts at finding such a spot seemed to be in vain, when

suddenly like 'a bolt from the blue', on the feast of St Joseph, March 19th 1962,

news was brought that a site was vacated. A Carbon Paper Factory on the main Ghod

Bhander Road had been served notice to quit, as the authorities declared the place

to be a residential area! Marvellous, truly marvellous are the workings of Providence!

The Vicar lost no time in directing the Sisters to contact the Chairman of the

Company of Killick Nixons, of which this factory was a branch. No sooner said than

done. Negotiations started and by June 1962, the community of seven Sisters moved

into their 'New Home'. The factory building consisted of a large hall, and four smaller

ones and the whole under an asbestos roof. The walls were literally saturated with

carbon ink, and it was most difficult to get the place cleaned and renovated. But with

the timely help of Mr. Anthony Lobo, the architect, the contractors did a magnificent

job of it. When the building was fully renovated and given a face-lift, it turned out a

picture beyond expectations! A foreigner remarked- ".so much like a country

school in Germany!"

The accommodation though was certainly limited and the Sisters could take over

only the girls of Stds 1,2 and 3 from St Xavier's School along with their own

Kindergarten students. The work of constructing a new school building was then

taken up. This development followed a chain of trials! There were obstacles that on

occasions appeared insurmountable, anxieties which seemed to deepen with time,moments when furrows chalked out were literally wiped away. The harvest, for which

the Institute had entered the Field, seemed absolutely out of sight! But with the

Wisdom of God, every cloud has a silver lining and so it turned out to be, slowly but

surely. One obstacle after another was overcome; anxieties cleared. Through the


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selfless devotedness of the Sisters, who persevered with undaunted courage, the

sunshine of success became visible once more.

The Institute is deeply grateful for the goodwill and encouragement bestowed on the

Sisters, by the priests of the parish, and by a multitude of well-wishers and friends

and above all the blessing of God Almighty. Through the intercession of Mary, our

Mother and our Patron St Joseph, in 1972, exactly two years after the start of the

construction, the building stood an accomplished fact! - Ready to accommodate the

entire High School! It is fitting to express our appreciation to those directly

responsible for the bringing to fruition a project so dear and valuable to us. Mr.

Anthony with his expertise was able to design a building in the limited space- so

compact, spacious and airy. M/s Ratan Surveyor and Co., Contractors, translated it

into the replica of the Sisters' dreams! The Sisters remember with gratitude, Mr.

Mahadevan, the Engineer for his devotedness.

Our committed Sisters along with a band of able and committed Staff have worked

tirelessly for the formation and the all-round development of the students. All

necessary steps are taken and activities organised to cater for the needs of the

present day youth. Thanks to the Catholic upbringing in the families and the

formation given here, we have the joy of receiving several vocations to the SJT

family from our Bombay school. Some of the boys, who passed through this school,

are priests today.

The History of the Bombay Community will be incomplete without a special tribute to

His Eminence Cardinal Gracias of revered memory. Sr Mechtilde (of happy memory),

the backbone of our Bombay house testified to the fact that it was through his

kindness that the Institute had been invited to the Archdiocese. All through the years

His Eminence had been a strong moral support and took as his personal

responsibility to see to the comfort, the happiness and spiritual welfare of the Sisters

with the most sensitive concern. Together with the Sisters, she expressed hergratitude to the several Provincials in office, beginning with Mother Anne, who due to

her far-sighted vision and practical wisdom foresaw a bright future. Her successors-

Srs Pauline Lopez, Marguerite de Jesus and Margaret Mary Pereira have contributed

greatly to this Institution.


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The years 1962 (inauguration of the Convent), 1972 (Completion of the building)

and 1982 (Centenary of the Congregation) stand out as shining landmarks in the

history of the Institution in Bombay. Through its portals, thousands of children havecrossed the 2000 mark! God's great Wheel of time moves on, and today, lookingback on the pathway covered, we can happily conclude in the cadence in which we

started.' The tears of the Sower and the song of the reaper mingle together

in joy'

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Community Vile Parle Mumbai