Diocese: Mangalore
Pioneers: Sisters Helena Menezes, Mable D’Souza and Susheela Sequeira
Venur is a small village on the banks of Phalguni River in Dakshina Kannada. It had been once the seat of Jainism. This fact is evident in the monolith of Bahubali also known as Gomateshwara, erected in 1604 on a high platform in the banks of river Phalguni. Venur also has been a habitat of a large number of converts to Christianity who had accepted the new faith thanks to the evangelization work of the missionaries from Italy. The converts had to be supported to grow in their faith. The Ursuline Franciscan Sisters accepted the responsibility. They arrived at Venur on July 8, 1972 at the invitation of Fr Elias D’Souza, parish priest. They were offered the farm house of the parish as their residence; it exists to date as its stock room. Residing in abject conditions must have certainly served as a facilitating factor in their mission among people, a vast majority of whom were poor.
Having realized that education was an excellent means to accomplish their assignment, they took up teaching at St Jude Higher Primary School of the Venur parish, situated a kilometre away from their residence. In 1986, they were entrusted with the responsibility of administering the School. Sisters Mary D’Souza, Angeline D’Souza, Luella D’Souza, Olivia Sequeira and Benny Fernandes as head teachers along with other staff members have given themselves totally for the progress of the School. Their labours have borne fruit in the form of ranks secured in the class VII Board Exam. As the school building was in a bad shape, a new building was constructed and inaugurated on May 29, 1992.
A second scheme they initiated in accomplishing their task was establishing a centre named Grihini. Indicative of its name, it brought about resourceful empowerment of women. The Sisters over the years have borne scores of hassles to initiate the project, to construct buildings, to develop and to form the Centre people-friendly. Having been supported by donor agencies from India and abroad, the Centre has realized a sea change not only in the area of faith, but also in economic, moral, social, and political arenas.
The Sisters have been performing pastoral activities at Christ the King parish with total commitment. Their task consisted of all exercises in the church and in the parish as their fellow religious performed in other parishes. Their pastoral assistance outside the parish has been remarkable. They have helped at St Francis of Assisi substation at Perady for seven years (1990-1997) which lies four kilometres away from the Convent and at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour church at Gantalkatte for two years (1988-1990) which lies nine kilometres away from the Convent. As both these places are located at a distance, the Sisters have sacrificed a great deal to reach there regularly on Sundays. Sisters Angeline D’Souza and Madtha D’Souza have a claim to be remembered for undertaking the mission at Gantalkatte for two complete years.
The Sisters had some time to think about their well-being after thirty-five years of their life at Venur. Their house, constructed in 1976 in a plot of land offered by the parish demanded their attention. Thus, in 2007, the corridor of the house was renovated, the yard furnished with interlocks and an access way from the main road to the Convent was constructed. The Generalate financially assisted in this project. Procuring sufficient water has been a constant problem at Christu Raj. Having drawn on the benevolence of the parish for a long time, a tube well was sunk in the convent campus in 2008. It provided sufficient amount of water, which has enabled a plantation of two hundred each of areca and coconut saplings.
Christu Raj Ashram has been of service to Sisters of the Venur Zone since the inception of zones in Mangalore Province and Christu Raj Ashram’s choice as the zonal house. It organizes various zone level activities, and this has firmed up the bond of Sisters. The Convent has also catered to the pre-novices of the Congregation for three years. At the termination of the pre- novitiate programme at Bijapur in 2007, Christu Raj Convent has made available all possible assistance to the pre-novices for three years, with each of the batches being accommodated for one full year.
By and large, then, it can be asserted that the Sisters of Venur have succeeded a great deal in the task entrusted to them. The fairly large number of vocations to priestly and religious life from Venur is a clear indication to the fact that they have succeeded in forming the faith of the people.
