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History of Pallottines in India
The Origin
The origin of the Pallottine mission
in India could be traced back to the South African mission of the
South German Province of the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart
Province had offered its services in this mission of the Limburg
Province when the restructuring of the whole mission in 1935 had
required more missionaries.
However, the results of the South
African undertaking were not too encouraging. After years of
arduous work it offered only very poor prospects of further
growth. This generated some discussions in the Province as to the
wisdom of continuing to engage in the mission. In addition, the
fact that it was, after all, a mission of the Limburg Province,
dampened the interest of many confreres for any further
involvement. Subsequently, the Conference of the Rectors of the
Sacred Heart Province in 1946 opted for withdrawing the members of
the Province working there. The Provincial Assembly of the same
year also recommended the termination of the South African
engagement for the added reason that the Bishop of Cape Town had
expressed his confidence in managing the diocese on his own. The
South African mission of the Sacred Heart Province came to an end
in 1948.
The search for a new mission tilted
towards India for several reasons. The late Mgr. Werner Hunold,
who then worked in the South African mission of the Province, had
expressed his desire to go to India. Fr. Faller who worked in the
Pallottine Generalate during this period had also come into
contact with Indian Priests studying in Rome. His contact with Fr.
Vincent Castellino and Fr. Gerson Mascarehnes of the Nagpur
diocese put him in touch with the Bishop of Nagpur, Mgr. Louis F.
Gayet MSFS. These contacts proved providential as Mgr. Gayet was,
at this time, already contemplating the bifurcation of his vast
diocese, entrusting one part to some willing Religious Order. The
ensuing discussions and correspondence with the ecclesiastical
authorities in India and in Rome culminated in the Sacred Heart
Province being entrusted with the Raipur mission in 1950 by the
Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda Fide.
The Raipur Mission
The first Pallottine missionaries
for India, Fr. Werner Hunold and Fr. Lorenz Scheu began their
journey by ship from the Italian port of Trieste on April
28,1951and arrived in Bombay, India, after thirty two days on May
30th. Two days later they arrived in Raipur and had a glimpse of
their future mission. The oppressive summer heat of Raipur forced
them to make a temporary retreat to the Hill Station of Chicalda
near Nagpur.
The official history of the Indian
delegature began with the formal installation of Fr. Lorenz Scheu
as the Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s church Raipur on July 25,
1951. Already prior to his departure from Germany he was appointed
the first delegate superior. Consequently, Raipur also became the
seat of the delegate Superior. Fr. Hunold was entrusted with the
Kutela mission on February 2, 1952. Both the missions had required
the untiring effort of the missionaries to restore their Christian
vitality. By March 1953 Fr. Hunold had additional help. Fr. Joseph
Strittmatter who was well-versed in carpentry and masonry, was
also an able architect and engineer. Together these pioneer
missionaries laid the foundation for the Indian Pallottine
mission. They continued to function under the jurisdiction of the
Archbishop of Nagpur.
The work of the missionaries, however,
did not have a smooth sail. Working in an alien country and
culture, with little knowledge of the local language, illness and
with too few hands to assist, the endeavor proved too hard and
seemed to offer very little chances of success. The situation
seemed so hopeless that, by 1954, the ecclesiastical authorities
themselves recommended the closure of the mission. The words of
the Apostolic Internuncio to India, Archbishop Leo Kierkels, were
representative of their general skepticism about the ability of
the Society to fulfill her mission in India: “send your Fathers
back; it is a hope less beginning”. But the missionaries stuck to
their determination to remain and continue the work for which they
had come. Several options were considered to get more missionaries
into the field but none of them offered an immediate solution to
the shortage of personnel. Finally help was sought from the
Australian Region of the Pallottines. The Australians could find
easy access to India as Australia formed part of the Common Wealth
Nations. The Germans would replace them in Australia.
Fr.Bruno Kupke and Bryan Tiernen
arrived in India by September 1956. Soon Fr. Tiernen replaced Fr.
Scheu who was forced to return to Germany due to ill health. Under
him the Raipur mission grew. Fr. Kupke opened the first ever
novitiate in India in 1956 though he did not remain in the country
long. He was replaced by Fr. Roger McGinley. The help from the
Australians helped stabilize the tottering Indian mission and gave
it a new lease of life.
A new phase in the history of the
Pallottines in India began with the arrival of Fr. Hanns Weidner
in India in August 1959. He was an officer in the German army and
was a man of vision, and a good leader and organizer. Appointed to
succeed Fr. Werner Hunold as the Delegate Superior, he led the
Delegature with efficiency and foresight. Under him the Pallottine
work and mission in India extended beyond the boundaries of
Raipur. Houses were opened in Pachmarhi, Goa and Kerala.
Raipur itself became an independent
Apostolic Prefecture in 1964 and Mgr. Weidner was appointed its
first Prefect Apostolic. He relinquished his office of the
delegate Superior and was succeeded by Fr. Werner Hunold. Under
Mgr. Weidner the Raipur mission grew rapidly. in 1974 it was
raised to a diocese and Mgr. Weidner was appointed the Apostolic
Administrator.
In October 1976, the Pallottines
celebrated the silver jubilee of their arrival in India. The
sacrifices of the pioneers had borne immense fruit. Mgr. Weidner
had died on August 17, 1974. Raipur diocese was under the
inspiring guidance of Mgr. Werner Hunold. The Delegature was in
the able and confident hands of Fr. Toni M. Kolb. The large number
of students in the formation held out a bright future for the
Society in India.
The Prabhu Prakash Region and Province
During the tenure of Fr. Kolb as the
delegate Superior, the work of the Society extended to more areas.
This enviable growth earned her the status of a Region. The Prabhu
Prakash (Epiphany of Our Lord) Region was established on September
15, 1980. It was the first Region in Asia. Fr. Kolb was appointed
the first Regional Rector. He continued to hold the office until
1984.
The increased autonomy resulting from
the new status brought with it even faster growth. Already by 1986
views were expressed that the Region should be raised to the
status of a Province. The Regional Assembly of 1987 also made a
strong case for the establishment of the province. The new
Province was formally erected on January 11, 1989. Fr. Joseph
Tharakunnel became the first Provincial Rector.
Consolidation
Simultaneous to these developments
there began to be felt in the Province the need to consolidate
what was already being done. Efforts aimed at streamlining the
formation and apostolate gained momentum. Commissions were
established for Formation, Apostolate and finance since 1984. From
1987, Vocation Orientation Centres were established in various
parts of the country to promote vocations from all areas. Already
from 1987, discussions had begun concerning the establishment of a
Pallottine Theologate in India. The Apostolate commission sought
to promote a greater understanding of the Pallottine charism and
apostolate. Greater financial self sufficiency was sought for a
more sustained growth.
The Pallottine charism began to find
increasing acceptance among the Indian clergy. Several of the
Indian Bishops showed interest in the work of the Pallottines in
promoting the apostolate of the laity, and invited them to work in
their dioceses. In 1988, Fr. Thomas Vijay was appointed Secretary
to the Commission for the Laity of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of India, a post that continues to be held by the
Pallottines unto this day.
The 1990s was distinguished by some of
the important land marks in the history of the Pallottines in
India. In 1993 Fr. Christudhas was elected Provincial. In 1994 the
Pallottines took over the administration of the Krist Premalaya
Theologate at Ashta. It was the inter-diocesan house of theology
for all the dioceses of Madhya Pradesh. By assuming charge of the
institute, the province also realized one of the original dreams
of Pallotti - to train priests for the missions. The extraordinary
Provincial Assembly on formation in the same year made the final
decision on the establishment of a Pallottine theologate in India.
The first ever Pallottine Congress took place in 1995. It had
reflected in depth upon the role of the Pallottines in the mission
of the Church in India and emphasized the urgent need to form the
laity and to formulate a uniform Pastoral plan for the Province.
The Transformation
The growing number of members and
the vastness of the Province had prompted discussions on the
possible division of the Province as early as 1992and it was
expressed in the Provincial Assembly of that year. However, it was
temporarily deferred by establishing Local Communities. But Local
Communities could not effectively deal with all the factors that
had necessitated a division. The dissatisfaction over its
functioning was evident in the Congress of 1995. The Congress
suggested the constitution of a commission to study the matter in
depth. The duly formed commission then forwarded its suggestions
to the Provincial Council. The meeting of the Provincial Council
on May 3, 1996 recommended to the General Council the division of
the of the Prabhu Prakash Province.
From 1999, Fr. Mathew Panakal led the
Province and ably guided the difficult process of transformation.
In July 1999 the Transformation Commission was appointed to work
out the modalities and details of the transformation. The work
proved to be a cumbersome and long drawn out process. In the
meantime the Province celebrated the golden Jubilee of the
Pallottine presence in India. It was a momentous occasion. The
Province was at a defining moment of its history. The toils and
struggles of the pioneers had borne fruit a hundredfold; the hopes
and promises they held forth for the future was in full bloom;
their dreams for the generations that were to come after them had
come true. The Prabhu Prakash Province had reached enviable
heights in fifty years. In 2000, there were 204 finally professed
members in the Province and more than three hundred students in
the formation. The Province had nine houses of formation, and
fifty seven houses and parishes under its care.
The Millennium Assembly
The Provincial Assembly of October
2000 was a historical event. It was convoked to finalize the
proposal for the division of the Province. The theme of the
Assembly ‘Transformation of the Province and Creative Fidelity to
the Pallottine Ethos’ revealed its preoccupation – to keep intact
the Pallottine identity and mission in India in spite of and after
the division. The Assembly proposed a division into three units.
The General Administration issued the decree of transformation on
the feast of the Pentecost, June 3, 2001. The new administrations
assumed charge on January 6, 2002. The tiny seed sown in 1951 had
grown and branched out.
Conclusion
The growth of the Indian Mission has
few equals in the history of the Society. The humble beginnings of
1951 assumed large proportions in just fifty years. Today India
has two provinces namely Prabhu Prakash Province and Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary Province and a region Khrist Jyothi
RegionPrabhu
Prakash Province has its
Provincialate in Nagpur and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Province has its Provincialate in Bangalore and a region Khrist
Jyothi Region has its regional house in Raipur. St. Vincent
pallotti church, Marol belongs to the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary Province.
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