The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MS-MHC), the first indigenous con-gregation of northeastern India, has marked its 80th foundation anniversary.
“In the glorious mission history of Northeast India, one cannot deny the impact of the multifaceted missionary enter-prises launched by the MSMHC, be it in the local church or various aspects of life in the society,” said Salesian Father V C Joseph, the main celebrant of the jubilee Mass on October 22.
The priest, who is the rector and principal of Don Bosco Sch-ool Siliguri, West Bengal, stress-ed the congregation’s hall mark saying, “Quality education for the poor and downtrodden with a spirit of service and compassion uniquely characterizes the Si-sters’ educative mission with a vision to reduce social and econo-mic disparities.”
The congregation was found-ed on October 24, 1942, during the Second World War by Sale-sian Bishop Venerable Stephen Ferrando of Shillong.
Spread out in 13 regions in India and abroad, some 1,500 members of the congregation are now engaged in services ranging from faith formation, education and social work. They serve all 15 dioceses of northeastern India.
The congregation today runs 54 educational institutions, 115 parish schools, with 140 hostels both in rural and urban areas.
Today the Sisters render ser-vices to children in difficult circu-mstances, express solidarity with the domestic workers, and care for women victims of drug and alcohol abuse.