COMMUNITY OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, CHEYYUR Community : St. Anthony of Padua, Cheyur. Address : St. Joseph s Convent, Cheyur 603 302, Kanchipuram District. Established : 1904 Diocese : Chingleput Community Activities : Education, Health care, Social and Pastoral ministries. The Foundation at Cheyyur is the 16 th House of Cluny in India. The name Cheyyur evokes mixed feelings for most of the Sisters. It has been the first missionary experience for many a French Sisters in rural India. At the request of Rev. Fr. Grandjanny, MEP, the then Parish Priest of Cheyyur, four Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny arrived in Cheyyur from Tindivanam on 24th March 1904. Father had built a house for the Sisters and a Dispensary. The following day it was blessed. The Sisters noticed that the house and the Dispensary were well furnished by the generosity and kindness of Fr. Grandjanny. A Grotto was constructed near the Dispensary and was blessed on 8th Sep 1912. A bell was sent from France by the Mother General to facilitate common life in the convent. On 22 Nov 1916 and on 28 May 1917 when the Cyclone hit and the robbers broke open the house respectively were the unpleasant times the Sisters experienced. The tragic event was on 13 Dec 1999 when 6 Sisters were killed instantly at the collapse of the roof of the Sisters' residence around 1.30 a.m. One sister escaped miraculously. Our Medical Mission yesterday and today: A man of vision, Fr. Grandjanny, put up 2 huts - one to serve as a Dispensary and another one as a residence for the health workers. The dispensary witnessed 72 patients on the first day and 130 on the following day. The Sisters started visiting the surrounding villages of Cheyyur to render medical assistance to the sick. They used a bullock cart as their conveyance braving the heat and dusty roads. In 1926 the number of patients increased to an average of 300 per day. In 1952 the services of the dispensary were further extended. A maternity was annexed; a Crèche for the abandoned babies was also run along with the Dispensary. With further updates in due course, a trained Sister Nurse was placed to be on duty night and day. Health education formed a large part of the plan of this Sister Nurse. After 1960 the dispensary and the maternity were further enlarged to treat many other medical cases particularly the snakebites. On 7 th October 2007, the Dispensary was shifted to a new building near the main gate with a little more facilities added. Modern treatments, such as Dolphin massage, physiotherapy cycle, magnetic therapy, occu-punture, occu-pressure, etc. and herbal medicines are used by our Sister Doctor and Sister Nurse. Since many cases of alcoholic addiction are prevalent in the area, Sisters pay special attention to them through counselling and medical treatment. 1
In Vazhapattu, where we have about 6.5 acres of cultivable land and a small building, Sisters used to visit and conduct Mobile Clinic. The same place also was used for Development activities, such as conducting Needle Work classes, youth animation programme, sessions towards women s empowerment, Small Savings Scheme, etc. (In recent years, all these activities are not carried out but only the cultivation of the land is seen to.) People of Cheyyur still continue to experience the poverty of health in the midst of scientific abundance. Hence, deriving strength, guidance and inspiration from Jesus, the Divine Healer, we aim at liberating and building up the broken human persons, taking into account, their physical, mental, moral and spiritual well-being. The Education from the Roots to the Fruits at present: The School was established in the year 1908 by Fr. Grandjanny MEP, and he became its first Correspondent. Three Sisters helped him in this venture. In the beginning there were only 30 students on the roll, but there was a rapid growth. In 1910 the strength of the School rose to 200. In 1924 there was an increase of 85 more students. The Founder felt the need for an additional building. Therefore in 1930 he constructed a new building which could accommodate 100 students. On 25 th November 1936 the School was recognized by the Government. Change of Administration: From 1908 to 1969, the School was under the Management of Pondicherry Archdiocese. In 1970 Cheyyur, along with few other Parishes was carved out of Pondicherry and was attached to Madras-Mylapore Archdiocese. Therefore the Management of the School was transferred to Madras-Mylapore. Under the Correspondentship of Fr. Thivyanather and then of Fr. Rayappa, the Parish Priests of Cheyyur, the School was taken to new heights. In 1973 the Archdiocese of Madras- Mylapore handed over the administration of the Little Flower Higher Elementary School to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. Progress and Growth of the School: When the School was started in 1908, it was only an Elementary School. Stds. VI, VII and VIII were introduced in 1942, 1943 and 1944 respectively. Since then there had been a steady growth. In 1955 a mid-day meal scheme was sanctioned by the Government for the poor students. In 1960 the strength of the School increased to 322. Even at that time, there were 32 little ones in the Kindergarten (Tamil medium). In 1973 the school had 592 students on the roll. It was not easy to convince the parents to send their children to the School. We went to different villages and picked up children by force from the streets and brought them to school. We cleaned them up, trimmed their hair, bathed and dressed them up with clean clothes and placed them in class rooms. We implemented the special coaching system which Government introduced for the weak, poor and underprivileged. According to this scheme, the clever students who topped in the exams were selected and given higher education at the expenditure of the Government. From 1973 to 1984, the success of the students coming from the remote villages stood as a testimony to the success story of the school. Nearly 18 students received scholarship worth Rs.1,500/- each, during this period. The band of service minded teachers with deep 2
devotion, sharp intelligence and ripe wisdom help and educate the young children who are in the grip of poverty and illiteracy. In the course of time most our Sisters and Teachers were honoured with Best Teacher Award by the State Government. From its humble beginning the School has produced many great people. The past students of this school shine in different walks of life. Many of them have become Priests, some have joined our Cluny family and others have joined different Congregations to become religious and to serve the Universal Church. In 1997 the School was upgraded into a High School. Due to the upgrading of the School, the number of students has increased. Surprisingly the boys number more than the girls. To make the administration effective and fruitful, from October 1998 the Primary School functions under a separate Headmistress and Correspondent the first one was Sr. Rose Caritas Maria Siluvai, who was tragically killed in the building collapse on 13 th December 1999 along with our 5 Sisters. In March 1999 the batch of Std. X students were entered for the public examination. All of them passed with first class honours. Since all our 5 Teaching Sisters died in the tragic event of the building collapse on 13 th December 1999, (Sr. Amala Rani Xavier - Headmistress of Higher Secondary School, Sr. Rose Caritas Maria Siluvai H.M. of Primary School, Sr. Alfred Kulandaisamy - Tamil Pandit in the High School, Sr. Maria Therese Swaminathan - B.T. Asst. In the High School, and Sr. Fatima Mary Durairaj - Teacher in Primary School), we closed the School and the Boarding for a month, in order to re-organize the administrative body and other things in the campus. Sr. Adiakala Mary Anthony took over the High School as Headmistress & Correspondent, Sr. Alice Mary Arulanandu took over as the Headmistress of the Primary School and Sr. Jeya Mary Saminathan filled in the post of the Tamil Pandit. We borrowed Sr. Nirmala Margaret Arokiaswamy from South West Province and Sr. Emily Alice Savarimuthu from South East Province for two years, to fill in the teaching posts. These Sisters shouldered the burden of rejuvenating the face to the School. In June 2002 we upgraded the High School to Higher Secondary. As the Government does not pay the salaries of the High and Hr. Sec. School staff, it is a strain on the part of the Management. For better administrative capacity, from October 2009 the Correspondentship was handed over to the Superior. Home for Children: This was started in 1904 as an Orphanage for the abandoned babies. In 1930, a French woman, Madame Neuenschswander, helped to complete the construction of the Orphanage, which was started by Fr. Grandjanny. Later it was made use of as a shelter home for our Orphan girls from Pondicherry who were sent here to pursue their studies. After some years it s doors were open to the other nearby village girls who wanted to continue their School education. As majority of the students come from economically poor 3
back ground, this Home is run on the help received from Sponsorship: from Holy Childhood, Rome, CFPE / Enfants de l Univers / ABH, France, and ESA, Japan, and from many other individual donors. These amounts help to pay their board, school fees, uniform and a set of dress at Christmas. ESA, Japan, contributes 60% of their educational and living expenses. With a financial support from ESA, Japan, a new House was constructed for them. When on 13 th Dec 1999, the Sisters residence collapsed, killing 6 Sisters, this house was shared by the children (upstairs) and the Sisters (ground floor) with bare minimum facilities. Later, a dressing room, proper toilet blocks - fixed with tiled flooring after few years, bathing rooms (with the help of MEP fathers) and a Multi-purpose hall (from ESA fund) were constructed to give more space and conducive living for 150 children who are accommodated here. With the help of Holy Childhood fund, 26 sets of dining tables and benches were made to furnish their refectory, because, the children were seated on the floor or on the open ground during their meal time. A lot of improvements were made in and around their residential area to make it more hygienic and eco friendly. Social Development Activities: According to the need of the hour, development works were carried on in different forms: Sponsorship programme to educate children, Rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Repatriates, rendering help to the Tsunami affected families and educating their children in our school, conducting Madhar Sangam, Youth programmes, educating women through Government Schemes, Organizing women s Groups to obtain Government Loans so as to start small scale business, petty-shops, etc. One Sister, with the help of 6 co-ordinators was reaching out to 25 villages. By mobilising the power of women she managed to eradicate the consumption of liquor in many villages and thus she could restore peace and love in families. She was managing two Tailoring Units for the young girls and drop-outs, to learn and earn their livelihood. Many profited by this and obtained a Sewing Machine each from the Government after completion of the Tailoring course. With the subsidy and stipend from the Government, she was able to manage these programmes. In the coastal areas, she was mobilising the fisher-folk to market the dry fish products. Unfortunately now all these programmes are stopped because of Sr. Mary Gabriel Michael s tragic death on 13 th Dec 1999 - except one Tailoring unit which continued until 2009. This was also closed due to non attendance of students. At present the Sister Social worker runs a Canteen for the School children, providing hygienic snacks. Pastoral Works: From the beginning the community members are actively involved in Evangelization. They teach moral science and catechism in the School, in the parish, in the sub-stations, conduct different pious association meetings, see to the altar decoration and cleanliness of the church, organise liturgical and para-liturgical services, conduct prayer meetings in different parts of the village, pray the rosary with the families, etc. While visiting villages for medical or social activities, they visit the families, prepare people for Sacraments / for liturgical celebrations, accompany the Parish Priests to the sub-stations, arrange guided tour to pilgrim centres, bring Communion to the sick and the aged, etc. In all activities of the Parish, the Sisters play a major role and give whole hearted collaboration to the parish priest. 4
We would like to bring to record the following: To share our grief and sorrow after the tragic death of our 6 Sisters on 13 th Dec 1999, Mother General sent Sr. Rosalie Cota, the then General Councillor, to support us by her presence and guidance in order to re-organize our mission in Cheyyur. Mother Marie Noel Lefrançois, Superior General, herself came to pray with us on the 40 th day Mass for our deceased Sisters. On the first death anniversary of their death Sr. Morag Collins and the Provincials of the four Provinces of India were present. Sr. Bernadette Pinto, Provincial and the Sisters of the Province of South East India, who stood by us through all the trials during and after the tragedy. At the Order of the Government officials, all the old constructions in the campus were completely demolished. But God came to help us through persons and NGOs. - To complete the construction of Children s Home - which with the help of St. Peter Claver Convent, Rome, was started in 1999. Then continued with the financial assistance of ESA, Japan and Mr. Rock Paul, France. - Manos Unidas, Spain, helped to construct the Primary School building, which was blessed and inaugurated on 14 th July 2001. - Andheri Hilfe, Germany, with the recommendation of Fr. G. Kulandairaj, our Provincialate Chaplain, helped the construction of the Higher Secondary Block, and the over-head Water Tank, which were completed and blessed in April 2002. - With the financial support of our Superior General, Ms. Brigitta Schnell and the Diocese of Koln in Germany, we were able to complete the construction of the Sisters residence, and the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. - With a considerable fund from MEP Fathers, through their Regional Superior Fr. Cornu, a spacious chapel and the monument over the tombs of our 6 Sisters were built. These were blessed on 24 th April 2004, marking the Centenary of the Arrival of Cluny Sisters to Cheyyur. Special mention of Sr. Lea Sinnappan, the Superior, who, in faith and resignation to God s plan, accepted courageously to hold the rein to lead the community, to take up the task of constructing most of the new buildings and to rework on the face of our mission in Cheyyur. Special thanks to our dear Mother General, our Provincials, Sisters of the whole Congregation, very specially the Provincial (Sr. Marie Cooper) and Sisters of USA/Canada for their financial aid and prayers. By Sr. Rosary Chinnappan April 2013. 5