Diocese: Mangalore
Pioneers: Sisters Epiphania Fernandes, Josephine Pinto, Jane Frances D’Souza, Assumpta Lobo and Lucy D’Cunha
The Ullal-Panir parish, with its parish church located at Panir, was blessed by the apostolic activity of the missionaries from abroad. The first church building of ‘Our Lady of Mercy’ is believed to have been built in 1526. After its demolition by Tipu Sultan during 1784-1799, it was rebuilt in1873 by Fr John Baptist Rebello in a plot of land gifted to Blessed Joseph Vaz. The site existed a hundred feet away from the convent building, near the cemetery. The Ullal-Panir area has been sanctified also by Blessed Joseph Vaz, a son of the soil (from Goa) who served in various parishes including Our Lady of Mercy parish at Panir from 1681 to 1684. Fr Gaspar S Lewis, parish priest invited the Catechist Sisters of St Ursula to his parish; Bishop Victor R Fernandes approved the proposal. Should we assert that the objective of their presence at Ullal-Panir was to enhance the sanctity of the place by their committing themselves to the task of spreading the Kingdom of God? This goes without saying. Sr Rose Saldanha as Superior (1930-1945) of the Company of St Ursula as well as the canonically erected Congregation of the Catechist Sisters of St Ursula had demonstrated unquestionable saintliness in action by agreeing to start a convent at Panir, besides establishing seven convents even in remote areas such as Vorkady, Bejai, Madanthyar, Fajir, Karopady, Trikarpur, and Beltangady. She definitely deserves a place among the saints not because she has established several convents but because she had opted consciously for the least in society.
In keeping with the vision of enhancing the sanctity of Ullal- Panir, the Sisters arrived at Panir in November 1942. On the same day, the foundation stone was laid for their residence. They resided in a thatched hut until their residence was ready on May 8, 1943. In completing the construction, Fr Gaspar S Lewis was of tremendous help; he even managed to get economic help from abroad. A lower primary school, established in 1940 existed next to the old parish building. As education had not yet been valued in the place as essential, the school had small number of students. In order to address the issue Fr Lewis established a Children’s Home in 1944, which was called Orphanage. To start with, it could claim four children only. The problem of scarce number in the school was a concern of the Sisters as well, as they had taken over the administration of the school in June 1943. They tried to address the problem by creating among the people an awareness of education; they succeeded in bringing more children to the Home. This necessitated more space. Fr Lewis did the needful by erecting a building in the same location. The Children’s Home was recognized by the government on November 19, 1946; it was registered by the name De Mercede with fifty children on record.
The Sisters took over the Children’s Home on April 1, 1950. In support of its maintenance, they received a plot which existed behind the Home extending up to the main road. Sr Ernestine, Superior General, donated a part of it to the parish, which is the location of present school premises, when Fr Charles J Aranha wanted to put up a new school building in 1985. The rest of the property was sold by the parish when a new church building – the present site – was being constructed in 1987. Fr Maurice D’Souza was the parish priest at that time.
Renovating the Children’s Home was a priority with the Sisters. The task was undertaken in 1975 with the assistance of the organization of Andheri Hilfe, through the recommendation of Fr Edwin Pinto. Further, as a permanent source of income to Children’s Homes at Panir, Karopady and Vorkady a six-acre land was purchased in 1975. The Mangalore Provincialate of the Congregation is located in this property. In return the Provincialate has undertaken the responsibility of maintaining those three Homes. The Children’s Home at Panir began housing children from North Karnataka since late 1990s. A vast majority of these children have been brought from the child labour school at Bijapur; as the government-sponsored programme lasts for a year only, the Home on its own provides the opportunity for children to pursue their primary and higher primary education. Sr Patricia Tauro, after her retirement as a teacher in the school, rendered unstinted service to the children at the Home for eight years. She equipped the Home with a telephone connection, a tape recorder, and a solar system. On February 19, 2004 the Home celebrated the diamond jubilee of its establishment. De Mercede day is being held annually on a modest scale. In 2008 a new block was added to the building sponsored by Don Francesco and his Associates; the children utilize it as a study hall. The Torch Trust of Mangalore donated four cupboards and two tables to the study hall.
The Sisters had been residing almost for fifty years in a dilapidated convent building. Any new construction was not possible due to lack of land demarcation between the Convent and the Home. Sr Clemence Noronha as animator of the community initiated the process of settling the issue, which bore fruit during the tenure of Sr Hycinth Pinto. The records obtained allocate 1.02 acres of land to the Sisters and 0.66 cents of land to the De Mercede Home. The land was secured with a compound wall in 1985 during the tenure of Sr Gabriel Rodrigues. On February 5, 1992 a new convent building was inaugurated and blessed in the same location.
The Sisters at St Joseph Convent have been active apostolically. They are involved in all activities of the parish like preparation of Liturgy, leading hymns during Eucharistic celebration, distributing Communion, minding discipline in the church, teaching catechism on Sundays and maintaining cleanliness of the House of God and altar linen. They participate in SCC prayer meetings and visit families regularly and pray with them. Sr Lilia Rasquinha has rendered her valuable service at the Shrine of Venerable Joseph Vaz, Mudipu for two years practically on a daily basis.
Three dedicated souls have departed to the Lord from St Joseph Convent. They are Sr Lizia D’Mello, a jovial person on May 11, 2005, Sr Ursula Fernandes, a lover of the poor, on March 21, 2010 and Ms Rosa Thomas Pulseri known as ‘Rosa Bai’, sister of Elize Kutty of Jeppu, a committed helper to the Sisters. She died on Feb 23, 2006 after serving the Sisters for 40 years. She is buried at Panir cemetery.
It is an undeniable fact that except for the religious and educational institutes that have been mushrooming at Panir recently, Panir still portrays a dismal image of itself. The depiction is accurate to a large extent because people of the locality and its neighbourhood are poor still and little noted for their enterprising spirit. However, the spiritual, moral and even socio- economic growth that has taken place at Panir has been immense, which points to a growth in sanctity. The Sisters have immense responsibility in assisting people to realize their dignity as children of God.