St.Teresa Province Udaipur
Origin
The Institute (Congregation) of the Prabhudasi Sisters (Handmaids of the Lord ) of Ajmer is a great Missionary Congregation of North India. It was founded on 24th May 1906 in the Diocese of Ajmer - Jaipur by Rt. Rev. Fortunatus Henry Caumont OFM. Cap., the first Bishop of Ajmer and they were placed under the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first Handmaid of the Lord. Bishop Fortunatus Henry Caumont was a deeply spiritual man and his heart was burning with the zeal for giving the Gospel message to all the people of Rajputana. He found that due to 'Parda System' and other social restrictions prevailing among the women of Rajputana, it was not possible for men Missionaries to approach the women folk. At the same time he knew, as long as they remained ignorant of Gospel message, it was impossible to bring the light of Christ to their families. This compelled him to think about the need of an indigenous Congregation of women, who know the language and customs of the people and could easily meet village women, speak to them in their
own language and give the message of Christ His dream came true on 24th May 1906 as he founded the Congregation of the 'Prabhudasi Sisters of Ajmer'. In the early years of the Institute, Bishop Caumont himself looked after his daughters but later on, he entrusted this task to his sister, Mother Mary Fortunat SMA. In 1953Mother Mary Fortunat retired due to old age. On 16th October 1953 the First General Chapter of the Congregation was convened and in which Rev. Sr. Imelda was elected as the first Indian Superior General of the Congregation for a term of six years. She was followed by Sisters Perpetua, Lucian, Ancilla, Martina, Nirmala and Nancy who carried on the Mission and Vision of the founder dedicatedly. From 11th November 2013 onwards the present Superior General Sr. Divya has been carrying on the Apostolate of the Congregation with great zeal. On 7th January 1936 this Institute (Congregation) was recognized by Rome as a Congregation of diocesan right. In 1962 it was affiliated to the 1st and 2nd Order of the great Franciscan Family.
Our Founder
Our Beloved Father Founder Bishop Fortunatus Henry Caumont was born at Tours in France on 10th December 1871. He joined the Capuchins on 1st August 1889 and was ordained priest on 19th December 1896. One year after his ordination he was sent to India to work in the Rajputana Mission. In 1913 the See of Ajmer was erected and Fr. Fortunatus was appointed as the First Bishop of Ajmer. Our Father Founder was a person with dynamic Missionary zeal and sensitive to the needs of the poor and the neglected. This great Missionary zeal compelled him to leave the most comfortable life of his native place - France and to reach in the sandy desert land of Rajasthan. Like a brave soldier he worked in India for thirty three years to establish the kingdom of God in this land. On 4th April 1930, Our Beloved Father Founder was called to heaven for his eternal reward. On 2018 with the collaboration of the Ajmer Diocese and MSA Congregation we started the canonization process of our beloved founder.
Our Charism
Our main Charism is to collaborate with Missionary priests in evangelization and Faith Formation of women and children and non-Christians, preferably the poor, the backward, abandoned and the most needy of the villages. We exercise it by regular house visits to the villages, medical care, social service and education to the children irrespective of caste and creed through vernacular schools and Hostels especially in the backward areas.
Pontifical Recognition
In our 8th General Chapter 1996, we unanimously decided to take necessary steps to raise the Institute to Pontifical right. Accordingly, supported by the testimonial letters of the other diocesan Bishops concerned, the Most Rev. Ignatius Menezes, Bishop of Ajmer-Jaipur (currently Ajmer) asked the Apostolic See to have the Institute of the '( Handmaids of the Lord ) recognized as a Congregation of Pontifical Right. The Late Holy Father St. John Paul II having heard the favourable opinion of the Congregation for Institute of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life has graciously granted Pontifical Right to the Institute on 9th July 1999. (Prot. No. A 140 - 1 / 96.)
Growth into Regions
In the course of time the PSAs have grown and spread their activities into different dioceses. As a result it became necessary to bifurcate the Institute into Regions in order to be more effective in carrying out our Mission. Thus two Regions were erected in 1999 namely Udaipur Region and Ajmer Region with Sister Lisetta and Sister Nancy as the respective Regional Superiors.
Growth into Provinces
In the year 2005 the existing two Regions were raised into Provinces - Jaipur Province and Udaipur Province under the patronage of Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa of Lisieux respectively. Later the name of the Province came to known as St. Joseph Province & St. Teresa Province. The first provincial chapter was convened in 2005 in which Sr. Maris and Sr. Divya was elected as the respective Provincial Superiors. After that Sr. Sushma, Sr. Joicy and Sr. Anita, Sr. Nirmala, Sr. Sales were elected as the respective Provincial Superiors. At present Sr. Joicy and Sr. Ranjita are the Provincial Superiors of St. Joseph and St. Teresa Province respectively.
