Present Provincial Team
Industrial revolution and social upheaval during the nineteenth century in Europe witnessed the Orphaned and neglected children roaming on the roads, the sick and destitute having no one to give them proper care, industrial workers exploited, and the educational system badly in need of reform. Into this situation, God called and sent Fr. Theodosius who was gifted with an extraordinary social awareness. Being a Franciscan Capuchin Fr. Theodosius was imbued with a profound sense of God’s universal Fatherhood and saw every human being under the sun as a brother and sister. With boundless confidence in God, he used his creative mind and dynamic personality in his efforts to alleviate the miseries of the people. His motto “The need of the time is the Will of God,” urged him to establish a Congregation of women, who would carry on, the works of mercy and give continuity to his plans, in 1856. It is affiliated with the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi and is of Pontifical Right. Mother Maria Theresa Scherer, the co-foundress, was filled with an active love for the poor and suffering. Love of God was her one passion and from it sprang the love of people and so she hurried at the call of every human misery. The number of Sisters increased and spread to various parts of the world, venturing into various apostolates keeping true to their charism of “All embracing love for the Crucified, and therefore compassionate love for all people, especially the poor and the underprivileged.” The members of this congregation work in almost all the continents, Europe, America (North &South), Asia and Africa.
On 15th February 1865, quite unexpectedly death snatched Fr. Theodosius away from his endless activities. It was a great challenge for Mother Theresa Scherer to keep in step with the growing needs of that time. With her charismatic leadership and the loyalty of her sisters, the Institute kept growing through many a storm from its inception. For 31 years she held the great responsibility of being Mother General until she died in the peace of Christ on 16th June 1888 and beatified on 29th October 1995. Her grave in Mother House, Ingenbohl, has become a place of pilgrimage. The growth and expansion still continues, venturing into various apostolates, keeping true to the founders’ Charism “All embracing love for the Crucified, and therefore compassionate love for all people, especially the poor and the underprivileged”.
We the Holy Cross sisters are proud of our two great souls, who attained holiness and eternal bliss by doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way BLESSED ULRIKA NISCH (1882-1913). The saint among the cooking pots BLESSED ZDENKA SCHELLING (1916-1955) “No one has greater love than this, that one gives one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn.15:13).
The Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross is situated on the Ingenbohl hill in Switzerland, which epitomizes natural beauty. The snow – covered mountains, pristine lakes, alpine villages all make it a visual treat and continue to give inspiration and newness to our sisters in their mission.
Bettiah in the State of Bihar is the Cradle of Holy Cross Sisters’ Mission in India. 18th November 1894 marked the opening of a new chapter in the History of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy cross. On that day Sisters Lamberta Flamm, Patrona Bichler, Michelina Schrott and Chrysogona Thoma landed in Bombay, India. They were the congregation’s first Sisters to set foot in a mission land. Travelling east towards the state of Bihar and the holy Ganges, they arrived at Bettiah on 22nd November,1894.
In July 1896, less than two years of their arrival, cholera broke out in Bettiah. The orphanage was not spared and fifteen children died within few days. The sisters nursed the sick children day and night with great motherly care. Then the tragedy struck. The sisters themselves caught cholera and within four days three sisters died by the killer disease. Only Sr. Chrysogona the youngest among them was spared with a broken health. “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single grain.”
Despite the dreary prospects another group of sisters arrived and the Mission continued. They found inspiration and strength in the words of the foundress “Do not lose heart, look up to Him from whom all strength proceeds.”
The Commitment, Self-sacrificing love, perseverance and compassion of our pioneers in the mission field of Bettiah- Chuhari are incredible.
On 15 January 1934, a violent earth quake devastated the whole of North India. The orphanages in Fakirana and Chuhari were destroyed. Plague and small pox broke out soon after the earth quake. The sisters nursed the wounded and the sick in temporary tents and open fields in the spirit of the Foundress “We hurry anywhere, where human need calls us to be.”