Deen Bandhu Samaj is a congregation originated in Bastar, a tribal district of Chhattisgarh in the jurisdiction of Jagdalpur diocese under the Syro-Malabar rite entrusted to the CMI congregation. The diocese was begun as an exarchate in the year 1972. Bastar district then was the third biggest district in India (bigger than the whole Kerala, about 39,171 sq.km.), having its headquarters at Jagdalpur. The people speak 70 languages or dialects. There weren’t any transportation, education and medical facilities in this district when DeenBandhuSamaj came into existence. People were poor tribals, illiterate, superstitious, downtrodden and exploited. The nearest convenient railway stations were Raipur and Visakhapatnam, which are about 300 kms. away from Jagdalpur. Now the whole Jagdalpur mission (the old Bastar) is divided into seven districts.
Rev.Fr. Paulinus Jeerakath CMI, Provincial of CMI Kottayam province in Kerala was appointed as the exarch of the Jagdalpur exarchate in 1972. He started the mission with five fathers of his province and few sisters of CMC and SABS congregations. Msgr.Paulinus and the Rev. Fathers were prayerfully looking forward to have a women religious congregation for the diocese.
Origion of deen bandhu samaj
The Foundress of Deen Bandhu Samaj, Mother Mary Tresa Kottarathil, was a member of the congregation of the Catechist Sisters of St. Ann, Hyderabad, Telengana state. She joined the congregation of the Catechist Sisters of St. Ann on 2nd July 1955. Edified with her disciplined, devoted and dedicated life, she was appointed as assistant to the novice mistress in the novitiate house immediately after her first profession. In 1966 she was appointed as novice mistress and then elected as general finance councilor for 6 years in 1972. She and few other members were inspired to live a more austere and true missionary life united to the will of God, serving the poor, giving the Good News to them and quenches the thirst of Jesus for the souls.
God provides her guides to go ahead
Mr. Azhikkakath Kunjuvarkey Antony, an advocate from Hyderabad (Azhikkakath House, Thrippunithura in Kerala), came forward to help her in this matter. He sought the guidance of Rev. Fr. Joseph Manjaly CMI (one of the first CMI missionaries of the then Chanda Province) who was staying in Hyderabad during those days about helping Sr. Mary Tresa. Rev. Fr. Joseph appreciated him, encouraged him and himself was inspired to help Sr. Mary Tresa. He approached the then Archbishop S. Arulappa of Hyderabad to take his support in this matter. The archbishop wanted to arrange few houses of the congregation for those who wished to live a renewed life so that they could continue their religious life in the same congregation without taking dispensation. Since that could not happen, Mary Tresa decided to get out of the congregation and dedicate herself for the service of the poor. She got the dispensation letter in the last week of August and left the congregation on 29th August 1974 with Rs.100/- for journey.The trust in the Almighty God was her only wealth. Mr. Antony received her at Hyderabad and arranged a rented room for her.
Rev. Fr. Antony Moozhikuzhy CMI who belonged to the Chanda CMI province came to know about these matters through Sr. Eugine CSA and promised his help to them. So Sr. Mary Tresa went to meet Rev. Fr. Antony Moozhikuzhy at Bellampally. Both of them together met the bishop of Chanda diocese, Most Rev. Mar Januarius CMI, and requested him to allow her to start a congregation to serve the poor people of his diocese. He suggested Mary Tresa that Jagdalpur was a new diocese and they would be in need of sisters. Thus God was opening a door for her future mission.
Preparation For The New Mission:
To prepare herself to serve the poor, God arranged for her a course on ‘Social Action and Community Development’ in the Ecumenical Christian Centre at Whitefield, Bangalore in a very miraculous way. She reached there on 30/09/1974 at the last moment of closing the admissions. She faced the interview successfully and the classes started on October 1, 1974. Sr. Deepa Thekkethottyil also left the CSA congregation on 15/10/1974 and joined Mary Tresa at Whitefield, Bangalore. A seat became vacant by that time due to the sickness of a person and Deepa could get admission in that place. So it was proved that God was with them and guiding them towards the fulfillment of his plan.
Sr.Lilly Edayanimattathil, Sr.Deena Varakukalayil and Sr.Christella Aviyil left CSA congregation on 12th and 28th October1974 respectively. Sr.Lilly was doing her midwifery course after completing the general nursing. She continued it. The other two were doing Diploma Course in Homeopathic Medical Sciences. They continued their study there. Mr. Antony, Advocate and Rev. Fr. Antony Moozhikuzhy could arrange a hostel for them with the help of the parish priest of that area and they helped them to meet their expenses.
When Mary Tresa and Deepa were in whitefield, Cardinal Joseph Parekkatiil went to Bangalore to bless the newly built chapel of Dharmaram College. With the help of Rev.Fr.Joseph Manjaly, Sr. Mary Tresa and Deepa met Cardinal Joseph Parekkattil to speak about their future missionary life. He enquired about their desire to continue their religious life and suggested them to ask the Bishop of Jagdalpur where the service of sisters was urgently needed since that was a new diocese. It was becoming clearer that their future mission would be in Jagdalpur diocese.
During those days Rev. Fr. M.S.Kandathil CMI from Nirmal Province, Jagdalpur, working in the Telugu area of Jagdalpur happened to meet Rev. Fr. Antony Moozhikuzhy. While sharing about the missionary activities of their respective dioceses, Rev. Fr. M.S. Kandathil enquired Rev. Fr. Antony about the availability of sisters who knew Telugu to work in the Telugu areas of Jagdalpur diocese. This strengthened the hope of Rev.Fr. Antony who was planning to go to Jagdalpur to meet Msgr. Paulinus Jeerakath, the exarch of Jagdalpur exarchate and he set out to Jagdalpur. They both discussed the matter and Msgr. Paulinus asked Sr.MaryTresa to keep an application expressing her desire and intentions and describing all other matters also. Accordingly she kept the application. After few days (March 1975) she got a letter from Msgr.Paulinus inviting her to come to Jagdalpur diocese after the completion of the course at Whitefield. He had arranged Konta, a new mission station, a Telugu speaking area, ready for them. They experienced the plan of God working out miraculously in their lives.
Advocate Mr.Antony, Rev.Fr. Antony Moozhikuzy and Rev.Fr.Joseph Manjaly spent their much time, energy and money and made many journeys for these pioneers of the congregation from the time they left the Congregation of the Catechist Sisters of St. Ann till they reached Jagdalpur diocese. It was Mr. Antony who spent most of their expenses and the congregation should never forget them.
SANTWANALAYA, KONTA (The cradle of the congregation and its Mother House).
Konta is situated in the southernmost corner of the present Sukma district on the boundary of Odisha and Andhra Oradesh. It is situated 184 kms south of Jagdalpur on the present Jagdalpur Vijayawada/Hyderabad route. There were no Catholic Churches in these areas. There was no conveyance facility to cross the border and to go to Andhra where people of Konta could go for marketing and other purchasing. They had to travel to Jagdalpur (184 kms.) to purchase anything.
Santwanalaya was the name of the new mission station started by the Jagdalpur exarchate where Rev.Fr.Thomas Poothakuzhy CMI, the priest-in-charge of the mission station, was staying in a small rented house. It was here Rev. Fr. Joseph Manjaly reached Sr.MaryTresa, Lilly and Deepa on June 3, 1975. Rev. Fr. Thomas Poothakuzhy welcomed them. Great was the generosity of his heart; he sacrificed his comforts of the house and gave it to the sisters and shifted his residence to a grass thatched small mud hut.
Marvelous are the deeds of the Lord. God brought Sr.MaryTresa and her group to the place where he wanted them to live for his glory and bear witness to him.
Under the guidance of Rev. Fr. Thomas they visited the nearby villages and made an observation of the place. It was a thick forest area where tribal people lived. They spoke different dialects and couldn’t understand Hindi the regional language. Few people of the Thahsil headquarters could understand Telugu and Hindi. The village people were illiterate, superstitious and exploited by the business people. There were neither transportation nor education facilities. In sickness they didn’t take medicines but did some worship and chanted some mantras and most of them were dying. With the guidance of Rev. Fr. Thomas they started non-formal education classes under the trees in the villages. Slowly children were brought to the mission centre and hostel was started. They were sent to government school. They also started adult education classes and a dispensary with outreach program to take care of the health of the people. They were helped to uplift their life situations with many programs like land leveling, digging ponds and wells, Mother and Child Health programs, Self-help groups, tailoring centres, night schools etc. This method was followed in every place wherever new communities were started later. Gradually many other programs were also introduced.
Deena &Christella joined them on 13/06/1976 after completing their study of Diploma in Homeopathic Medical Sciences. Sr. Imelda Chennakattukunnel left CSA and joined them on 21/06/1976.
The pioneer members of the congregation, Mary Tresa Kottarathil, Lilly Edayanimattathil, DeepaThekkethottiyil, Christella Aviyil and Imelda Chennakattukunnel, had their Vestition on 29th June 1976 and the community was named ‘DeenBandhuSamaj’.
The very name “Deen Bandhu Samaj”, was chosen by the Bishop himself from his inner inspiration on his way to Konta to visit the sisters there. This manifests the ‘Charism and Spirit’ of the congregation to be founded deriving its original inspiration from “The Divine Mercy of our Heavenly Father”. The sisters were to share this merciful love with the hungry, the suffering, the poor, the oppressed, the ignorant and the sinful. The call of the members of the new congregation was to become the friends of the poor. “If we are not their friends, we have no friends” (Bishop Paulinus).
The community was accepted as a Pious Union by the Sacred Congregation in its letter N.122/76, dated 28th July 1976 and Bishop Paulinus officially declared it on 15.08.1976.
The exarchate Jagdalpur was raised to the status of an eparchy (diocese) and exarch Monsgr. Paulinus had his Episcopal Ordination on 11th May 1977 at Mannanam, Kerala, the Mother House of the CMI Congregation, by Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Parekkattil. The eparchy of Jagdalpur was formally inaugurated on 19th June 1977.
Sr. Eugine Vattamattathil and Sr. Helen Pullattu also came out from CSA congregation and reached Konta on 30th June 1977. Sr. Kripalata Kiran, a member of SMMI congregation, also joined this group on 7th January 1978 with a deep rooted desire to preach Jesus where the Good News was not yet reached.
The 22nd June 1978 is the most memorable day written in golden letters in the history of DEEN BANDHU SAMAJ because it was the official birth day of the Congregation. On this day the pioneer members (Sr. Mary Tresa, Sr. Lilly, Sr. Deepa, Sr. Christella and Sr. Imelda) made their First Commitment in the Congregation. Sr. Eugine, Sr. Helen and Sr. Kripalata also had their vestition and started their novitiate on the same day. This historic event was officiated by Most Rev. Mar Paulinus Jeerakath CMI the First Bishop of Jagdalpur diocese, in the Bishop’s House Chapel at Jagdalpur. On that day Bishop Paulinus gave them ‘10 Guiding Principles’ as basic rules for their way of life. The sisters accepted St.Thomas as their Patron and nominated Sr. Mary Tresa as their leader.
From June 30, 1978 onwards new candidates joined the congregation. They were sent for various studies after their initial formation to do different kinds of apostolates.
Sr. Deena Varakukalayil who had her vestition on 6/11/77 made her first profession on 31st October 1978. Sr. Eugine, Sr. Helen and Sr. Kripalata Kiran had their first profession on June 23, 1979. All the nine members had their Final Profession on 22.06.1984. Thus a stable foundation was laid.
Bishop Most Rev. Mar Paulinus Jeerakath purchased land at Koppaguda for the generalate and the formation of the DeenBandhu Sisters. He wanted the DBS sisters to live like the poor people of the village. So seven mud houses roofed with small tiles were built; separate houses for chapel, refectory, guest room, class rooms for candidates and dormitories for the candidates and sisters. The houses were structured in the village style so that the villagers could approach the sisters without any inhibition. On 6th November 1982, the houses were blessed by Mar Paulinus Jeerakath himself. Mother Mary Tresa with her team of 3 sisters and the 4th batch candidates started to live there. The houses were adjacent to the village. The generalate was shifted from Konta to Koppaguda and the campus is known as DEEN BANDHU KUTEER.
The sisters and candidates lived a very simple life. After the Holy Mass all used to be busy with their allotted responsibilities. Other than the class timings, the candidates and the sisters engaged themselves in the services like non-formal education, helping the villagers in agriculture, Mother and child health programmes, outreach programme of the dispensary and other social uplift programmes.
Directors were appointed by bishops from 1983 onwards to lead the members in their all round development both spiritual and missionary activities.
The First General Synaxis was held at Koppaguda on 18th and 19th July 1987. The following members were elected for four years:
Mother Mary Tresa Kottarathil - Superior General, Sr. Imelda Chennakattukunnel- Councillor for Finance and Asst. superior general, Sr. Helen Thonippara– Councillor for Catechetics, Sr. Helen Mary Pullattu – Councillor for Education apostolate, Sr. Lilly Edayanimattathil – Councillor for Social apostolate.
The First Constitution was approved by Bishop Paulinus Jeerakath on 25.12.1989 and it was promulgated by the First Superior General Mother Mary Tresa on 01.01.1990 and it came into effect from the same day.
Our beloved founder Most. Rev. Mar Paulinus Jeerakath the first bishop of Jagdalpur was called to his eternal reward on 06.08.1990. Rev.Fr. Kurian Macheril CMI was appointed as the administrator of the diocese and on 19.03.1993 Most Rev.Mar Simon Simon Stock Palathra was appointed as the 2nd bishop of Jagdalpur diocese. On 13.09.2013 Most Rev.Joseph Kollamparampil CMI was appointed as the third bishop of Jagdalpur diocese.
God in his benevolence added members to the congregation and it was growing. It started spreading its branches to different parts of Jagdalpur diocese and other parts of India. Candidates from north India also started joining the congregation from 1997-98.
DeenBandhuSamaj, a Pious Union was raised up to the status of a Congregation of Eparchial Right by the Congregation of the Oriental Churches via letter Prot N. 63/2002 dated 25th November 2002. Most Rev. Mar Simon Stock Palathra CMI by his letter No. 32 A/28/03, dated 10.02.2003 canonically erected the Congregation on 11.02.2003.
Bishops, Directors and zealous missionary fathers of CMI Nirmal province, Jagdalpur played a great role in the growth of the congregation. They fulfilled our spiritual needs, took classes for us, and taught us to work among the villagers and to run schools. They worked with us in all the levels and helped in our all round development. We are ever grateful to them.
A lot of social work programmes were launched for the people of Koppaguda and fifteen villages around Koppaguda. When the number of programmes increased, it affected the formation. So formation houses were constructed separately at Chhindgarh for aspirants, Birsaguda for postulants and Kondagoan for novices. A study house for the school going candidates and college going sisters also was constructed in Jagdalpur town.
As the number of sisters increased, they were sent for studies in medical sciences, education, social work, family apostolate and pastoral care. They were appointed at different mission stations to help the priests for pastoral care, social work, education apostolate health care, home for the aged, mental asylum and family apostolate. Two of our doctor sisters are working in the government medical college, Jagdalpur and two doctor sisters,five nurse sisters and two BMLT trained sisters are working in the diocesan Mar Paulinus Memorial Hospital, Jagdalpur. One of our sisters is serving as the Administrator of the same hospital.Sisters are also sent outside India to USA, Italy and Germany to take care of the patients and aged people. 10 sisters are engaged in perpetual adoration and giving pastoral care to the faithful in their parishes.
The congregation has expanded both inside and outside India, trying to spread the ‘merciful love of God’ through its apostolic activities.