Capuchins in India
Introduction
Of all the saints of the Middle
Ages, Francis of Assisi seems, at first glance, the one whose hagiographic
existence would be the best established. A cloud of witnesses in the church, in
the world, in the order, should refract in a multi-coloured rainbow the aura of
holiness which illuminates the strangely complex personality of this man who
only wanted to be simple. whose happiness consist in giving rather than winning it for oneself who gave important to the fraternal life
(religious community) that is the life sheared in love ,because this fraternal
communion itself moves us to the
charitable service in the community and in world at large.
The missionary zeal of St.
Francis of Assisi is still proactive. The communities, the custodies, the vice
provinces, the provinces are designed to establish the spirit of St. Francis of
Assisi in the every junction of the world
thus History gives witness to this profound truth.
In this specific
assignment I would like to emphasis on the topic call “A Brief History of the
Province in the Context of the History of Capuchins in India. There will be
main seven points on which I would like to build my assignment. The points are
as follows:
1. The Beginning of the
Capuchins in India
2. The Growth of Capuchins in
India
3. The First Indian
Province
4. The Growth in to Other
Provinces
5. The Growth of Maharashtra Province
6. The Names of the Provinces
of the Indian jurisdiction
7. Additional Growth
Since I belong to Maharashtra
province I am going to bring St. Bonaventure Province of Maharashtra in to a
picture along with the capuchin history in India.
1. The beginning of the Capuchins in India:
The arrivals of the
Capuchin in India dates back to the year 1632 when a band of foreign Capuchin missionaries
landed in Pondicherry, their intension was to extend their missionary thrust to
Tibet and Nepal. However it turned out that they continued their missionary
ventures in the Vicariate of Agra and Patna. After slogging as missionaries for
about two and half centuries, the idea of implanting the order in India was
considered as a possibility. Hence in 1880 a novitiate house was opened in
Mussoorie. Just ten years later, however, this novitiate was closed down for
want of vocation. A second attempt at beginning the order in India made on 26th
February 1922, at the instance of the then general Minister of the order, Br.
Joseph Anthony of Persecutor. He inaugurated the novitiate personally at
Sardhana, which could be said as the cradle of the Capuchin order in India for
many years to come, two Indian novices wear vested on this occasion in the
novitiate named after St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen.
The superior Regular of Agra, Ajmer Allahabad
and Lahor were jointly responsible for the success of this venture. Vocation to
the order came from many dioceses of India but more from the south than the
North. To overcome many of the initial teething troubles in the area of
formation , the novitiate was later placed under the care of the Superior Regular
of the Ajmer and to continue the post –novitiate formation , a study houses
wear started at St. Francis Monastery, Mussoorie. The early Capuchins ware then
sent to Europe to pursue their further studies with the French friars at Breust,
Tours and Nantes. The first batch of 12 clerics had left India on 22nd
June 1927, Br. Marie Egide Uhlennuth of Ajmer leading theme.
2. The Growth of Capuchins in India
The absence of a strong,
vibrant and populous Christian community in north India, even as the extreme
weather conditions of the place called for a transfer of the novitiate from
North to a more favourable location in the South the Provinces of the Paris was
called upon to undertake this venture. The capuchin was offered a little hill
at Farangipet, called Monte Mariano, in the diocese of Mangalore and hence the decision
to shift the novitiate was carried out in May 1930. Monte Mariano therefore can
well be called the second cradle of the Capuchins in India .from then on the
growth of the Capuchins in India was rapid and already in 1932a study house was
set up in Quilon and most of the students who had not yet finished their
studies abroad were brought back to continue their studies here.
Naming of Br.Guido Le Floch as the General Commissary in
1933 marked the next phase of the growth of the Order in India. The influx of
candidates was unabated and the order grew from strength to strength. From 1948
to 1954, Br. Richard Brunner from Calvery Province of USA was put in charge of
Indian Capuchin Mission. He was made
Commissary Provincial in 1951. By 1954, the hands at the helms were changed and
Fr. Cyril Andrade became the first Indian Commissary Provincial. In 1956, the
Agra Archdiocese was entrusted to the Order and Fr. Dominic Athaide was
consecrated as the first Indian Capuchin Bishop of Agra. In 1957, Fr. Cassian
Timmins, a Canadian Missionary from Gorakhpur was appointed to guide the
destiny of the Commissariat and he guided it during the next 6 years. The
number of Capuchins by now had grown from 41 in 1933 to almost two hundred in
1960.
3. The First Indian Province
Fr. Clement of Milwaukee,
the General Minister, who had known the growth of the Capuchin jurisdiction in
India already at the time of his first visit. He paid a second visit in 1962,
especially for constituting the Indian unit into a full-pledged Capuchin
Province. Fr. John Berchmans Puthuparambil was appointed as the first
Provincial Minister of the Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, India.
Moreover, in the first elective chapter in 1966, Fr. John Berchmans was elected
as Provincial Minister. During the second elective chapter held in 1969; Fr.
Jacob Acharuparambil was elected as the Provincial Minister. He was also the
last of the Provincial Ministers of the united Indian province as the jurisdictions
had grown too big and as such stood in great need of a division , if only for
the sake of sheer good administration . Meanwhile in December 1971, Br.
Symphorian Keerprath was nominated Bishop of Jalandhar diocese and a whole
civil state of Punjab was thus entrusted to the care of the Capuchins in
India.
4. The Growth into Other Provinces :
Ever since the novitiate
was shifted to Monte Mariano, the Province had seen nothing but steady and
rapid growth. it could count about 500 friars distributing among 40 houses in
the five states of Karnataka , Goa ,Maharashtra , a Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Besides,
they were working also in many other states and some in foreign countries. In this
circumstances, the need of creating smaller jurisdictions for the sake of
greater efficiency and a better implantation of the order. The first discussion
to this effect took place during the provincial Chapter of 1969.
The general Minister and
his definitory, having taken note of the situation, sent br. Aloysius ward to
conduct an on the spot and thorough study of the state of affairs prevailing in
the Province during the visitation from November 1971 to February 1972. As a
result at the end of March 1972,the general minister and his definitory took
the important and necessary decision to dismember the province into four unites
,namely ,the province of St. Joseph ,Kerala, the province of holy trinity ,
Karnataka –Goa-Maharashtra , the province of Amala Annai, Tamilnadu and the
vice province of St. Francis , Kerala. The decree of this effect, signed on 9th
May 1972, was promulgated at St. Joseph’s friary, Kotagiri, on 17th
May by Br. Aloysius Ward, along with the names of Provincial superiors and
their definetory.`
5.
The Growth of Maharashtra Province
:
The new Province of KGM
was carved out of the former Indian Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The three states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra were indicated as its
geographical territory. Br. Remigius Sequeira was appointed as the first
Provincial Minister of the new province with Br. Liguory Noronha as Provincial
Vicar and the First Definitory. Further, due to the rapid
growth in vocations, there was the need of implanting the Capuchin presence in
Maharashtra. Consequently, St. Bonaventure Capuchin Vice Province was erected.
Within a span of ten years, the progress in the Vice Province has resulted in
its elevation to the status of a Province.
Province of St.
Bonaventure opened the new chapter of its life and mission on 4th June 2008 in
the presence of our Minister General in the Fatima Friary, Vidyavihar-Mumbai in
the state of Maharashtra. During the Eucharistic Celebration, which was
presided by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, Br. Mauro Jöhri, our
Minister General, announced the new Team of Provincial Minister and
Definitory: Brothers Michael Fernandes
as Minister Provincial, Leo D’Monte as
Vicar Provincial, Benher Patil second definitor, Joseph D’Souza third definitor
and Terence D’ Souza as fourth definitor.
On 3rd June 2008, the
Minister General himself received five of our brothers into the Order: Ashok
Brahmane, Suhas Pereira, Nitin D’Souza, Rakesh Ghavtya and John Garodi. This
ceremony took place during the Holy Mass at which Br. Mauro presided along with
all of the friars of Maharashtra, the Definitor General for India, Br. John
Antony, as well as other provincials of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
6 . The Names of the Provinces of the Indian Jurisdiction:
1. Marymatha
Province in Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa (Collaboration with the Province in Switzerland and with
Vice province of Arabia)
2. St.
Joseph Province in Kerala (Missions – Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Bavarian
Province, Germany)
3. St. Thomas province in Kerala
4. St. Francis Province in Kerala
5. Holy
Trinity Province in Karnataka (Delegation of Nagaland –Manipur, Delegation of
Mizoram, Delegation of Sri Lanka)
6. St.
Bonaventure Province in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh (Collaboration with the Irish
Province)
7. Krist
Joyti Province
in Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and
Jammu-Kashmir.
8. St.
Fidelis Province in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jarkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Bengal,
Chattisgarh and Middle Andaman (Collaboration with the Irish Province in
New Zealand, Uganda and Custody in Japan)
9. Amala
Annai Province
in Tamilnadu (Padre Pio Custody, Zimbabwe, House of Presence in Burkina
Faso, France, Canada, Gulf Mission)
10. St. Antony’s Province in Goa
11. Pavanatma Vice Province in Kerala
7 . Additional Growth:
10 Provinces
1 Vice Provinces
2 Custodies
3 Provincial Delegates
compare to earlier time
where the missionaries would come from other countries to India but now the
things have really change that to say upset down. We have our friars in many
countries to serve as missionaries. Even one of the General Councillor Br. Michael
fernandes is from (Maharashtra) India, the General Councillor Br Clayton Jaison
Fernandes is from (Goa) India and still there are many others who are holding
the good and the best offices in Roam.
CCMSI is known as the Commission of Capuchin Major Superiors in India works for the
progress of capuchins in India and takes some of the decisions.
AFFI is known as the all Franciscan families in India works for the all
Franciscans in India. It is the center where Franciscan studies are done.
8. Conclusion:
To evangelize is to make
the kingdom of God present in our world. The work of making kingdom present in
the world is still energetic through the Franciscans that is what I precisely
learn from this assignment. It also helped me lot to know the origin and
derivation of my (capuchin) way of life in India and filed me with the weighty
knowledge. Evan it facilitated me much to know the evolution and expansion of
our own province (Maharashtra).
References
·
Directory of St. Bonaventure Province of Maharashtra.
·
Franciscan Capuchin sources.
