Mother Ernestine ventured into the distant mission territories in the North-east and in the Northen region of our country during her two consecutive terms as Superior General from 1968-1980. This was a period of great missionary expansion with its many young members opting to serve in the distant mission territories of our country. Wherever the Ursulines went they kept to the original spirit of faith - formation and village-oriented apostolate with a life-style of Franciscan poverty and Gospel simplicity.
The period ranging from 1980 - 1992 with Mother Repratha and Mother Severine as successive Superiors General was a time of attaining qualitative formation and stability in community life and mission. The Congregation trained its own formators in religious sciences and in psychology, either in the well-known institutions in India or in the West. The Congregation understood that the strength of any institute depends upon the quality of its members and the appropriate formation of persons in turn build up the institute.
Under the efficient and foresighted administration of Sr Edilburga Monteiro as Superior General from 1992 - 2004 the Congregation thrived with progress in spiritual, formative and apostolic aspects. The erection of Provinces and Regions brought in decentralization and opened new avenues for growth and leadership. The apostolate found new expressions. Formation Programme was geared towards the holistic formation of the members.
In the XI General Chapter Rev Sr Doreen D’Souza was elected Superior General. Her initiatives and thurst for evengelization and faith formation led the Sisters to venture into African continent. The Mission in Africa began on 12.06.2004. The first batch of Ursuline Franciscan Sisters embedded themselves in the soil of Same Diocese and later in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania where they are engaged in faith formation and education. This Mission is spreading rapidly and is bearing fruit in abundance.
Today the Ursuline Franciscan Congregation has spread into the length and breath of our country and even abroad. The Sisters serve in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal and in Italy, Germany and Tanzania too. The professed members number 1038. The Congregation has a bright future to make better contribution to the Church of tomorrow with 68 novices in five novitiates and 182 candidates in the various formation houses situated in Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Lucknow and Dimapur and Same. The Sisters give witness to the message of Christ by rendering their services in the 28 dioceses in India, 04 in Europe, 06 in Tanzania and 02 in United States with 145 established communities.
For fruitful apostolate, qualitative formation and better administration , the Congregation functions under four Provinces namely Mysore, Mangalore, North East, North and Hubli two Regions namely European and Africa Region and a Central Delegation. Each Province/Africa Region carries on its own formation of candidates, basic formation of junior Sisters, some parts of the ongoing formation of the professed Sisters and co-ordinates its apostolic activities. Pre-novitiate, Tertianship and a few programmes of ongoing formation are carried on at the Congregational level.
