FOOTPRINTS OF 125 YEARS – SRI LANKA

The hamlet of Marawila was blessed with religious faith in 1644, with a crowd of 600 Catholics and 50 school children, who gathered around the first church that was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier.

FOOTPRINTS OF 125 YEARS – SRI LANKA

 

 

The hamlet of Marawila was blessed with religious faith in 1644, with a crowd of 600 Catholics and 50 school children, who gathered around the first church that was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier.

 

The sisters of the Holy Family made their new foundation in Marawila on the 10th of June 1888. Under the direction of Rev. Mother Celeste from Wennappuwa, the four pioneer sisters, Marie du Carmel, M. Xavier, Bernard, and Del la Croix settled down in a part of a house which belonged to a benefactor.

 

For 18 years they had to depend on the generosity of benefactors in the village. Teaching work began under a huge mango tree. Both boys and girls attended their classes in language and religion. The girls received special instruction in needlework, child-care, and cookery.

 

The permanent building was completed in 1929, and then the number of children increased to about 500. By this time a new need had cropped up in the parish. Rev. Fr. Roland Perer, who was the parish priest, asked the Holy Family Sisters to start an English school. Rev. Mother Sacred Heart gave a positive response to this in 1943. There were 18 children to begin with and as there was no proper building, the Kindergarten classes and two special classes, prioritising the teaching of English, were conducted in the convent quarters. By the end of the year 1943 the number had gone up to 36.

 

Srs. Alphonseni, Regina and Loyola served in this school until 1964 and they had 125 pupils by then.

In 1947 the lower classes were dropped and there were classes from FORM 1 to SENIOR.

 

The historical journey of the school took a major turn in 1968 with the reorganisation after the schools takeover. The school was standardised as a Maha Vidyalaya (College) and Home-Science (H.S.C) forms were introduced with facilities to teach Arts, Commerce and Home Science. These were nearly 300 students, and a qualified staff of 13 including two sisters.

 

Today, after 125 years, the Holy Family Sisters have journeyed a long way in their mission, responding to the signs of the times in Marawila and in the country.

 

The main apostolic activity undertaken by the community is education, which is done at various levels. We reach out to the small children in the Nursery who are marking time for a long march in their academic achievements. They also provide an effective entry point to reach out to their families, which is beneficial to guide them in a meaningful Christian life, thus building up the family.

 

The primary school and the collegiate school have gone through a series of transformations and changes in their structure and service. In accordance with the new orientations given by the ministry of Education, our sisters and the staff commit themselves to a ministry of education in order to build up their spiritual life and personality formation through various seminars, retreats, workshops and leadership projects. The heritage of the missionary sisters of the past is preserved with gratitude in these institutions that go under the banner of the Holy Family – thus enthusiastically devoting life and time to make the Good Father’s dream relevant to our times, in our land. It is at these activities that we try to introduce the values of simplicity, generosity and hard work that prevailed in the Home of Nazareth and lay the foundation for a sound spirituality on the new vision introduced by the general chapter – an all-inclusive cosmic vision. At the same time we make efforts to develop their talents – especially aesthetic potentialities, in which they excel.

 

The home for homeless children in Marawila is also worthy of mention. Three of our sisters who are in this home, devote all their time to their welfare, which includes educational, spiritual and social development. The sisters take lot of care and concern to give them the security and shelter that they have lost in their life. There are 38 children here in our care and while helping them to develop their physical talents, we offer them various opportunities for a spiritual experience of God in their own life, in nature and in all the events and circumstances that they go through. We help them to relive the Founder’s dream in their lives, because we know that our Good Father had a special place in his heart for the orphans who were in his care.

Another important outreach is our availability to the mission in the neighboring parish at Mudukatuwa, which is a new upcoming Catholic community. The sister works in close collaboration with the parish priest. Her mission includes parish catechism, services extended to school-leavers, formation of the Christian community in worship and liturgy, education in Biblical studies and proclamation. Much of her time is spent building BASIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES and all the spiritual animation involved in this apostolate.  The insights that she gives to the people in simple living, peace, sharing, unity and other values and attitudes of the Holy Family, have brought her close to the people, becoming one of them in all situation of human life - deaths, marriages, youth, senior citizens and to the poor and the needy through the St. Vincent de Paul society.

 

As we count the blessings of the Lord over the past 125 years, we make this a wonderful opportunity of Praise and Thanksgiving for “Mirabilium Dei”. With heartfelt gratitude we can sing “Magnificat” with our early mothers who laid this foundation for the Glory of God Alone; they will join unceasingly with us from Heaven.

 

Marawila Community

Sri Lanka