September 30th was a great day in the annals of North East Province for the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters as we celebrated the silver jubilee of the erection of North East Province. It was a silver story richly textured with daring faith, generous love and unbounded hope. It was a celebration of God’s providential care and an expression of deep gratitude.
September 30th was a great day in the annals of North East Province for the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters as we celebrated the silver jubilee of the erection of North East Province. It was a silver story richly textured with daring faith, generous love and unbounded hope. It was a celebration of God’s providential care and an expression of deep gratitude. As our holy Constitution states our Charism to “launch deeper into the lives of the people ‘solely’ for the love of God” we the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters are fortunate to savor the diversity of North East India when the Holy Spirit inspired the zealous Priest in the person of Rev. Fr Ambrose D’ Mello SJ who invited our Sisters to join hands to empower the people of Nagaland in the year 1975, God gave gradual growth and the mission spread to other parts of North Eastern States and thus the Region was elevated to the status of the Province by Sr. Edilburga Monteiro the then Superior General on January 15, 1998, with Sr Jeraldine D’Souza as the 1st Provincial Superior of the North East Province.
The undaunted missionary spirit of the Sisters has definitely a claim for laurels who, by trusting in the divine providence have kept fanning the spark into flames of hope and joyfully welcomed the initial struggles, sacrifices and deprivations, venturing into an unfriendly climatic condition, deplorable transport system, a totally different culture and customs and above all the demands of a challenging mission, all for the love of God. Their dedicated missionary activities were immensely blessed by the Lord of the harvest and witnessed the growth of the Ursuline Mission. Today the Province serves in all the 07 states of North East, 12 Dioceses, with 152 Sisters residing in 25 communities, 5 sub-communities of the province and 235 Ursuline Franciscan Lay Associates and Blooms and 66 young and vibrant formees at different stages of formation.
Gathered around the Eucharistic table, the Lord invited us to muse on the wonders He has worked for us and through us over the past 25 years. Standing in splendor before the Lord and review the trodden paths, we recognized the mighty hand of the Lord Almighty, leading us all along the way, in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, shielding us from all sorts of evil, violence and temptations. Most Rev. James Thoppil the bishop of Kohima diocese along with 38 priests con-celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Bishop in his homily appreciated the pioneering Sisters and their wide spread services across the region and expressed hope for an even broader reach in God’s mission. The very presence of our Superior General and councilor, the representatives of Provincial Superiors and their council from the other provinces, which gave the celebration a feeling of oneness with theProvince.
Rev. Sr. Milly Fernandes the Superior General in her message invited the Sisters to a deep renewal of one’s lives and a realistic assurance of one’s priorities, policies and programmes, to re-set one’s goals, re-fix one’s priorities, deepen one’s sense of commitment, sharpen one’s vision and plunge into the future with undaunted courage and untainted hope. She asked every Sister to pledge to harness one’s resources & energies and direct them with concerted efforts at translating that dream into the golden realities of tomorrow.
A splendid welcome dance by our formees fascinated the audience. All the luminaries were accorded welcome by Rev. Sr. Benny Fernandes the Provincial Superior. The formees and the Sisters captivated the audience with their melodious notes by singing the Jubilee song composed by Sr. Carmeline Lalawmsangi UFS. The jubilee saw enactment of novices, envisioning the UFS’s mission in the future a decade hence. The celebration was anchored by Sr. Rosemary Yanthan. Sr. Juliana Pereira the vice provincial culminated the celebration by expressing the words of gratitude for making the event memorable. At the end with love and respect the Novices sang the Congregational anthem with their melodious voices.