The Capuchin
Franciscans are a Roman Catholic religious
order of brothers and priests who are
inspired by the ideals of St. Francis of
Assisi. Francis was a unique and dynamic
individual who lived life with a passion for
peace, honesty and charity. While society
was turning away from Christian values,
Francis embraced the message of Christ and
lived simply, serving the poor.
Our Heritage
Brief History of
Capuchins in India
Initial presence and attempts at the Implantation of the Order
The arrival of the
Capuchins in India dates back to the year 1632 when a band of
foreign Capuchin Missionaries landed in Pondicherry. Their
intention was to extend their missionary thrust toTibet 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
vocations. A second attempt at beginning the Order in India was
made on 26 February 1922, at the instance of the then General
Minister of the Order,Br. JosephAnthony of Persiceto. 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 were vested on this occasion in the
novitiate named after St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen. The Superiors
Regular of Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad and Lahore were jointly
responsible for the success of this venture. Vocations 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 Ajmer and to continue the
post-novitiate formation, a study house was started at St. Francis
Monastery, Mussoorie. The early Capuchins were 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
22 June 1927, Br. Marie Egide Uhlennuth of Ajmer leading them.
Movement towards South and Rapid growth
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 Province of Paris was called upon to undertake
this venture. The Capuchins were 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 was rapid and already in 1932 a 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 there.
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 Calvary Province of USAwas put
in charge of the Indian Capuchin Mission. He was made Commissary
Provincial in 1951. But already by 1954 the hands at the helms
were changed and Br. Cyril Andrade became the first Indian to head
the unit as Commissary Provincial. In 1956 theAgraArchdiocese was
entrusted to the Order and Br. DominicAthaide was consecrated as
the first Indian Capuchin Bishop of Agra. In 1957, Br. 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.
Formation of an Autonomous Indian Province
Br. 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, during his second term as General Minister paid a second
visit in 1962, expressly for the purpose of constituting the
Indian unit into a full-pledged Capuchin Province. Br. John
Berchmans Puthuparambil was appointed as its first Provincial
Minister and he was re-elected as Provincial Minister at the first
elective Provincial Chapter, held in 1966. Next in 1969 Br. Jacob
Acharuparambil was elected as the Provincial Minister. He was also
the last of Provincial Ministers of the united Indian Province as
the jurisdiction 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 Keeprath was nominated
Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese and a whole civil State of Punjab was
thus entrusted to the care of the Capuchins in India.
Division of the Indian Province
Ever since the
novitiate was shifted to Monte Mariano, the Province had seen
nothing but steady and rapid growth, so much so, by the year 1967,
just forty years after migrating to the South, it could count
about 500 friars distributed among 40 houses in the five states of
Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Besides they
were working also in many other States of northern India as
missionaries and even in some foreign countries like Indonesia,
Philippines, and Tanzania as Formators. Some had reached as far as
Malaysia with a view to implanting the Order. In these
circumstances, the need of creating smaller jurisdictions for the
sake of greater efficiency and a better implantation of the Order
in the various regions in India became not only apparent but also
urgent. 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.
AloysiusWard to conduct an on the spot and a thorough study of the
state of affairs prevailing in the Province during the visitation
from November 1971 to February 1972. It was then followed up by
the then General Minister, Br. Paschal Rywalski, himself.As a
result at the end of March 1972, the General Minister and his
Definitory took the important but necessary decision to dismember
the Province into four units, namely Province of St. Joseph,
Kerala, Province of HolyTrinity, Karnataka-Goa-Maharashtra (KGM),
Province of Amala Annai, Tamil Nadu and theVice Province of St.
Francis, Kerala.
The decree to this effect, signed on 9 May 1972, was promulgated
at St. Joseph's Friary, Kotagiri, on 17 May by Br.AloysiusWard,
along with the names of the new Provincial Superiors and their
Definitory.
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 Definitor. Brs.
Pacificus Menezes, Irenaeus D'Souza andVincent Lobo were the second,
third and fourth definitors respectively. The General Minister and
his definitory also entrusted the Agra - Lucknow - Ranchi mission to
the new province as a good number of its friars were working in the
mission. On 17th May 1972, the new Provincial Minister and his
definitory assumed charge and on that day the Province of
Karnataka-Goa and Maharashtra officially came into existence. It had
a strength of 100 friars. The first Chapter of the Province held at
Monte de Guirim in 1973 decided to dedicate the Province to the Most
HolyTrinity.
The second ordinary
Chapter of the province, held in March 1975, re-elected Br. Remigius
Sequeira as Provincial Minister. He had however a new team of
definitors, namely Br. Vincent Lobo, first Definitor and Provincial
Vicar, and Brs. Irenaeus D'Souza, Alphonse Malcolm Sequeira and
Rudolf D'Souza. On the whole, this initial period was directly
concerned with the recognition of the new identity and establishment
of a stable provincial fraternity.
In March 1978, at the
third ordinary Chapter, Br.Vincent Lobo became the Provincial
Minister with a fresh team of Definitors, namely Brs. Liguory
Noronha, Irenaeus D'Souza, Evarist Ferreira and Frederick Rodrigues.
The fourth ordinary Chapter too held in April 1981, reelected him
once again as Provincial Minister. The Definitors elected were: Brs.
Cornelius Monteiro, Evarist Ferreira, Dinesh Mendonca and Crispin
Lobo. During second term the major study houses of philosophy and
theology were established at Bangalore and thus the entire formation
programme began to function within the province itself.
Br. Liguory Noronha was
elected as the Provincial Minister in the fifth ordinary Chapter,
held in May 1984. Br. Terence D'Souza was elected as the First
Definitor and the Vicar Provincial, Brs. Theodore Pereira, Remigius
Sequeira, Garcia Coutinha as the second and the third and the fourth
Definitor respectively. The Provincial Minister, Br. Liguory Noronha
was re-elected in the sixth ordinary Chapter held in April 1987 but
was provided with entirely a new team of definitors. Br. Patrick
Crasta was the first Definitor and the ProvincialVicar. The other
definitors were Brs. Dinesh John Mendonca, Oscar Colaco and Rudolf
D'Souza. Responding positively to the call given by the General
Minister and his definitory, the province accepted for the first
time a mission abroad and four brothers entered Uganda in October
1988. The new administration had also to make some immediate
provision to separate the two stages of philosophical and
theological formation as the number of brothers in formation at
Bangalore had substantially increased. Hence the study of theology
was shifted to the newly acquired place at Mysore.
On 28 March 1990 during
the seventh ordinary Chapter Br. Patrick Crasta was elected as
Provincial Minister. Brs. Joel Pinto, Oscar Colaco, Baptist Braggs
and Andrew Anil Sequeira were elected as the first, the second, the
third and the fourth Definitor respectively. Heeding the urgent
request, the province accepted to send a few brothers to assist the
Capuchin mission of PapuaNewGuinea.
The eight ordinary
Chapter elected on the 14 April 1993 Br. Andrew Anil Sequeira as the
Provincial Minister. Br. Remigius Sequeira was the first Definitor
and the Provincial Vicar with Brs. Simon Rico Fernandes, Canute
D'Costa and Evarist Ferreira as Definitors. The General Chapter of
the Order held in June - July 1994 at the International College,
Rome, however retained Br. Andrew Anil Sequeira back in Rome as the
General Definitor and hence Br. Remigius Sequeira who was the
Provincial Vicar succeeded him by nomination, and Br. Rudolf D'Souza
was co-opted as the fourth Definitor. While the Ugandan mission saw
a further consolidation, the province realized a long cherished
dream of having an independent house for provincial administration
at Rajajinagar, Bangalore.
The ninth ordinary
chapter was held from May the 1 , 1996 at which Br. Vincent G.
Furtado was chosen as the Provincial Minister. Br. Patrick Crasta
was elected as the first Definitor and the Provincial Vicar and Brs.
Felix Ferrao, Francis Gonsalves andAndrew Rebello as the second, the
third and the fourth Definitor respectively. The province took up
the mission of North-East India, comprising the four states of
Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram and also began a
collaborative venture with the Capuchin province of New York to
develop the custody of Japan.
On 8 December 1998 the
General Definitory by its Decree Prot. No. 00999/98 constituted and
declared established the Most Holy Trinity Province of Karnataka. By
the same Decree the General Definitory appointed Br. Vincent Gabriel
Furtado as the new Provincial Minister, Br. John Baptist Sequeira as
the first Definitor and Provincial Vicar, Br. Patrick Crasta, Edwin
Colaco and Rudolf D'Souza as the 2 , 3 , and 4 Definitors
respectively. The inauguration of the new province took place at St.
Fidelis Friary, Farangipet. The first Provincial Chapter of the new
Province was held at Shanthi Sadhana, FISI, Bangalore from May 24
29, 1999. At this Chapter provincial Statutes were formulated and
approved ad experimentum.
The year 2001 saw the
celebration of the second ordinary Chapter of the province. It voted
Br. Andrew Anil Sequeira once again as the provincial Minister. To
assist him were elected Brs. Desmond Rebello, the provincial vicar,
Edwin Colaco, John Baptist Sequeira and Paul Sequeira as the
Definitors. The very first act of the new team was to launch the
Capuchin presence in Sri Lanka with the express intention of the
implantation of the Order and that of opening a novitiate house to
form brothers hailing from Pakistan.
The year 2004 saw the
celebration of the third ordinary Chapter of the province and
elected Br. Antony Jossy Fernandes as the Provincial Minister. To
assist him were elected Brs.Vincent Gabriel Furtado, the Provincial
Vicar, Henry Alva, Desmond Rebello and Joachim D'Souza as the
Definitors. During this triennium the Province took up ministerial
collaboration with St. Mary's Province, New York and a new mission
station in Manipur State.
The Fourth Provincial
Chapter was celebrated at Kripalaya, Mysore from 16- 21, April 2007
during which Br. Vincent Gabriel Furtado was elected Provincial
Minister, Br Andrew Anil Sequeira as the Vicar Provincial; Brs.
Denis Viegas, Edwin Colaco and Peter Cyprian D'Souza were elected as
the second, third and fourth definitors respectively. The Chapter
decided to request the General Definitory to erect St. Bonaventure
Vice Province of Maharashtra as a full fledged Province and to raise
the mission of North East India to the status of a custody.
◙
NEWS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fr. Manohar Mervin Dsouza
Vocation Director
ST. ANNE’S FRIARY
Jail Road, Kodialbail Post, Mangalore
Karnataka - 575 003, India
Phone: 9980104579 / 9481976210
Email: mmdsouza1972@gmail.com
gn Capuchin Missionaries landed in Pondicherry. Their
intention was to extend their missionary thrust toTibet 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
vocations. A second attempt at beginning the Order in India was
made on 26 February 1922, at the instance of the then General
Minister of the Order,Br. JosephAnthony of Persiceto. 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 were vested on this occasion in the
novitiate named after St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen. The Superiors
Regular of Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad and Lahore were jointly
responsible for the success of this venture. Vocations 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 Ajmer and to continue the
post-novitiate formation, a study house was started at St. Francis
Monastery, Mussoorie. The early Capuchins were 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
22 June 1927, Br. Marie Egide Uhlennuth of Ajmer leading them.
