History of the CST Mission in Punjab-Rajasthan
“In Heaven, my desire will be the same as upon the earth; to love Jesus and to make Him loved!” reads one of the spiritual letters of St. Little Flower to her missionary brothers. The missionary dynamism of the Little Flower Congregation (CST Fathers) is to fulfil this eternal dream of their patron saint. Starting from its founder, Very. Rev. Fr. Basilius Panat CST, time to time the Theresians were proactive in responding to this prerogative call to ‘love Jesus and to make him loved.’ This resulted in the Congregation’s missionary expeditions to Bhopal in 1969, to UP in 1970, to Punjab in 1973, to Rajasthan in 1982, to Nepal in 1994 and to Africa in 1999.
Identifying and separating the historical threads of the Punjab-Rajasthan mission from the common historical fabric of the Little Flower Congregation is a hazardous task. Every single thread on it is inextricably intertwined with one another rendering one seamless garment that leaves no room for a division of any kind! The purple thread that runs across the entire fabric is “Be Little, and Serve the Little” the archaic form of which is found in “Go and do likewise” (Lk: 10: 37), the propelling words behind Fr. Basilius Panat CST to begin the Congregation on 19 March 1931. Forty-one years after this day, in 1972, at the request of His Excellency late Bp. Symbphorian Keeprath, the then bishop of the diocese of Jalandhar, Rev. Fr. Seraphin Parambi CST, the then Superior General of the congregation, and two of his Councillors boarded the train to Punjab for the first time.
Although the immediate reason was to partake in the apostolic mission of evangelization held at there, it was one small step ahead of one giant leap! A new Sinai covenant was made: the Superior General signed a contract with the diocese according to which the district of Kapurthala and the Nakodar Taluk of the Jalandhar district were entrusted to the CST Fathers.
Followingly, Fr. Dominic Kokkat CST (now Bishop Emeritus of Gorakhpur) landed on the mission on April 18, 1973. Fr. Bruno Pazhooparambil CST, Fr. Joseph Chathanat CST and Fr. John Kudilil CST joined him within a month. They are the pioneer CST missionaries in Punjab. The challenges and risks involved in this new venture are revealed only when the socio-political scenario of Punjab in the 1970s is considered. Punjab in the 1970s and 80s was a hot potato with violent secessionist movements to create Khalistan on the roll.
Thus, the germinal stage of the mission was spent not in a cocoon of comforts but in fact in a burning furnace! Besides, the daring decision to anchor the CST mission in the backward region of the Diocese (in the Malwa Punjab) that consists of the districts of Faridkot and parts of Ferozepur also took a heavy toll on the mission. Accordingly, contracts were signed between His Excellency late Bp. Symphorian Keeprath and Fr. John Olickal CST, the then Superior General of the Congregation on December 8 and 10, 1973 respectively. After that, on December 18, 1973, Bp. Symphorian issued a decree that entrusted the said region to the pastoral care of the Little Flower Congregation. That was the beginning of a new era in the annals of the CST mission in Punjab.
The first independent religious house of the congregation outside Kerala was purchased from the diocese which had been used by the Capuchin missionary, Fr. Edward, at Kortli Road, Muktsar. The house was officially blessed on January 1, 1974. Fr. Dominic Kokkat CST was appointed as the first mission superior. The Congregation of Daughters of Mary (DM) arrived at Muktsar on March 16, 1975, at the request of the CST fathers.
Like the trustworthy servant who was entrusted with extra five more talents, having contented with the flourishing growth of the mission under the efficient stewardship of the CST missionaries, Rt. Rev. Symphorian Keeprath happily delivered the four Civil Districts of Ferozepur, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Moga to the CST Fathers through the renewal of the existing contract on October 25, 1986.
By this time the political condition of Punjab was getting worse day by day. Operation Bluestar and the subsequent political turmoil of this period are events the nation no longer wants to recall whatsoever! However, surprisingly, it was at this period that the Little Flower Congregation started recruiting seminarians for the Punjab Mission!
On July 13, 1984, the first batch of them started their minor seminary formation at St. John Vianney’s Minor Seminary of the Jalandhar diocese in Amritsar. The congregation temporarily started its own Minor Seminary on July 16, 1986, at St. Mary’s Ashram, Faridkot which was shifted permanently to the Little Flower College, Malout on May 28, 1987. For the past 35 years, this has been the place where the priestly formation of every new CST missionary of the Punjab mission is fecundated!
By the end of 1981, the missionary aroma of the Little Flower started permeating the adjacent state, Rajasthan. Actually, this was a point where the mission met the vision! For, in fact, Rajasthan was the first mission the congregation was supposed to take up unless Fr. Basilius who travelled up to Jodhpur at the age of 80 notwithstanding his physique, had declined gently the invitation of Bp. Leo D’Mello of Ajmer-Jaipur Diocese in February 1970. Instead in the same journey, he found the Gorakhpur-Banaras prefecture more yielding and consequently, Rt. Rev. Dr Patric D’Souza, the first bishop of the Diocese of Varanasi (the Gorakhpur-Banaras prefecture was erected as the Diocese of Varanasi in the late 1970s and Fr. John Olickal CST, the then Superior General of the congregation signed a contract on September 7, 1974. In the course of time, the Diocese of Varanasi was bifurcated and the Eparchy of Gorakhpur was erected on June 19, 1984. entrusted the newly erected diocese in the hands of the CST Fathers. The Holy See appointed Fr. Dominic Kokkat CST one of the pioneer missionaries in Punjab as the first Bishop of the newly erected eparchy in recognition of the commendable missionary works of the CST Fathers.
That said, although the mission in Rajasthan seemed to Fr. Basilius slow to yield and more demanding which was at that time beyond the capacities of a small congregation like his, a close analysis of his choice of Varanasi over Rajasthan would reveal that the founder, in fact, did not reject Rajasthan but reserved it for the right time.
The right time arrived finally when a contract was signed between Rt. Rev. Dr Ignatius Menezes, the then Bishop of the Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur and Fr. Paul Karumathy CST, the then Superior General of the Little Flower Congregation on August 15, 1982. According to this contract, the Diocese graciously entrusted two districts, Sri Ganganagar and Churu to the Congregation. Soon, on October 19, 1982, Fr. John Kudilil CST reached Shri Ganganagar accompanied by Fr. Sebastian Kalapurackal CST within a week and launched the first CST mission station in the desert state. They are the pioneer CST missionaries in Rajasthan. SABS Sisters of Kalamassery Province joined this mission in 1984. In 1986 the existing contract was renewed and added five more districts to the cart, tallying a total of seven districts viz., Ganganagar, Churu, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jhunjunu, Sikar and Hanumangarh. Fr. Xavier Olickal CST was the Superior General during this agreement.
On September 9, 1987, the Diocese entrusted one of its well-established mission stations with a prestigious
educational institute in Bikaner to the Little Flower Congregation which played a vital role in the development of the Rajasthan Mission. The Bikaner Boys’ School has completed 52 glorious years of existence reminiscent of the loving relationship between the Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur and the Little Flower Congregation.
Having completed the requirements to be elevated as a Region, Vice-Province and then Province, the Punjab-Rajasthan mission was first raised to the status of Region on February 15, 1992, then to Vice-Province on January 2, 2000, and finally to Province on March 5, 2003. The newly erected Province was named Khrist Jyoti Province with Fr. John Mundackal CST as the first elected Provincial Superior. The provincial house which had been at Malout was shifted to Hanumangarh junction on October 14, 2004, taking into consideration the latter’s easy and equal accessibility from both Punjab and Rajasthan. The Punjab mission celebrated its Silver Jubilee on October 27-28, 1998. A church was built at Ferozepur City as the Silver Jubilee memorial and dedicated it on 27th October 1998 as St. Thomas’ Catholic Church.
Another landmark event in the mission is the fulfilment of the long-awaited dream of having a Novitiate in the mission. It was finally realized in 2010 with the erection of the Little Flower Novitiate House at Abohar, Punjab. Candidates from the Khrist Jyoti Province and the Little Flower Province, Gorakhpur-Nepal, do their Canonical Novitiate here.
As the Diocese of Jaipur was erected on July 20, 2005, bifurcating the former Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur, the congregation entered into a contract with the diocese on September 14, 2007. It was signed between Rt. Rev. Dr Oswald Lewis, the bishop of the Diocese of Jaipur and Rev. Fr. Thomas Anjilivelil CST, the then provincial superior of the Khrist Jyoti Province. Thus, the CST mission in Rajasthan is presently spread across two ecclesial territories: The Diocese of Ajmer and the Diocese of Jaipur.
After the erection of the Eparchy of Faridabad in 2012, the Khrist Jyoti Province entered into a contract with the eparchy on June 5, 2014, signed by Archbishop Mar Kuriakkose Bharanikulangara and Rev. Fr. John Kappiyarumalayil CST, the then Provincial Superior.
The Syro-Malabar eparchy is achieving rampant growth in the land of five rivers with the Little Flower Congregation playing a leading role in it.
At the same time, as per the renewed contract with the Diocese of Jalandhar on May 31, 2020, signed between Rt. Rev. Dr Agnelo Gracias, the Apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Jalandhar and Fr. George Alukka CST, the then provincial superior, the province returned the Parishes/stations, viz., Ferozepur Canal Colony, Ferozepur Cantt., Ferozepur City, Makhu, Bhagsar, Mamdot and Abohar to the Diocese.
At present, the province has 39 Stations consisting of 21 mission parishes and 18 sub-stations. The total strength of the members on board is 88 priests and 30 professed seminarians on formation. There are 34 convents of 12-woman religious Congregations in the CST Punjab-Rajasthan mission topography as such. The Congregation is extremely indebted to their selfless and seamless services in different capacities.
The past years of stewardship in the pastoral and social milieu of Punjab-Rajasthan by the Little Flower Congregation have been one of mixed sentiments. There have been moments of trials and setbacks which are equally balanced by instances of overwhelming joy and stellar achievements.
One of those ripping moments in the history of the mission is the untimely demise of late Fr. Felix Nellikunnath CST as the superior general of the Congregation on November 13, 1998. He was the pioneer CST missionary to embark upon the first missionary exposure of the Congregation outside Kerala in Bhopal in the late 1960s. His painstaking efforts have also been instrumental in achieving the present status of the Punjab-Rajasthan mission.
As the mission is on its graceful journey from a grain of wheat to a mature plant while rejoicing in its achievements it also keeps each of its members on guard to perceive its weaknesses, nothingness and limitations. Taking home lessons from the past, the mission improves upon the present and marches towards the future. Nothing of the mission is single-handed victory. The CST mission in Punjab-Rajasthan is not a one-winged angel! In fact, it was a synodal journey of collegiality in company with the four major Dioceses, different wo/men religious congregations, the local catechists (Babujis), the faithful, and the people of Punjab-Rajasthan at large. Bouquet of thanks to all of them for moulding up the CST mission as of now and looking forward to being collaborators in building up God’s Kingdom in the region of Punjab-Rajasthan.
Timeline of the CST Mission, Punjab-Rajasthan
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 1970 | Missionary Journey of the Founder, Fr. Basilius Panat CST to Jodhpur, Rajasthan |
| 1972 | First contract with the Diocese of Jalandhar |
| April 18 1973 | Pioneer CST missionaries in Punjab land on the mission |
| December 18 1973 | Issuing the decree on entrusting the southern parts of the Diocese of Jalandhar |
| January 1 1974 | Blessing of the first independent religious house of CST fathers outside Kerala at Kortli Road, Muktsar |
| March 16 1975 | The arrival of the first woman religious Congregation (Congregation of Daughters of Mary (DM) in the CST mission, Punjab |
| August 15 1982 | First Contract with the Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur |
| October 19 1982 | Pioneer CST missionaries in Rajasthan reach Shri Ganganagar |
| July 13 1984 | The first batch of the CST Minor Seminarians at St. John Vianney’s Minor Seminary, Amritsar |
| 1984 | The arrival of the first woman religious Congregation (SABS Sisters, Kalamassery Province) in the CST mission, Rajasthan |
| July 16 1986 | CST Minor Seminary at St. Mary’s Ashram, Faridkot |
| October 25 1986 | Second Contract with the Diocese of Jalandhar |
| 1986 | Second Contract with the Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur |
| September 9 1987 | Handing over The Bikaner Boys’ School to the Little Flower Congregation |
| May 28 1987 | Little Flower Minor Seminary, Malout February 15, 1992 The status of a region |
| February 15 1992 | The status of a region |
| October 27-28 1998 | Silver Jubilee Celebration of the CST Punjab mission January 2, 2000 To the status of Vice-Province |
| January 2 2000 | To the status of Vice-Province |
| March 5 2003 | Erection of Khrist Jyoti Province, Punjab-Rajasthan October 14, 2004 New Provincial House at Hanumangarh Junction |
| October 14 2004 | New Provincial House at Hanumangarh Junction |
| September 14 2007 | Contract with the Diocese of Jaipur |
| May 16 2010 | Erection of Little Flower Novitiate House, Abohar |
| June 5 2014 | Contract with the Diocese of Faridabad |
| May 31 2020 | Renewal of Contract with the Diocese of Jalandhar |
| February 24 2022 | First Indigenous Priest (Fr. Stephen Swaranjit CST) from Punjab |
| April 21 2022 | Golden Jubilee Inauguration of CST Mission, Punjab-Rajasthan |