Brief History of San Damiano Province, Noida
The year 1960, the Golden Jubilee year of Assisi Province, Trichur, was a milestone in the history of our Congregation. As a memorial of that happy event and also as an extension of our service outside Kerala, a mission house was opened at Agra on 26th July 1960 which has become the Mother House for the missions. Seven of our sisters Rev. Mother Christina (Superior), Rev. Sr. Mary Layola, Rev. Sr. Leander, Rev. Sr. Alexis, Rev.Sr. Flavia, Rev. Sr. Manuel and Rev. Sr. Cantius were sent by the then Mother General, Rev. Mother Mary Celine at the invitation of the late Archbishop of Agra, the Most Rev. Dominic Athaide OFM Cap. They were the first missionaries of our Congregation to venture into the Northern regions of our mother land.
Under the benevolent care and wise directions of our Mother Generals and Provincial Superiors, San Damiano Mission was nourished and flourished into a Region that was declared on 4 October 1986 by Mother Celerina , the then Superior General with Rev. Sr. Diana as the Regional Superior during the tenure of Rev. Sr. Felicita, the Provincial Superior of Thrissur Province. The Region grew into a Vice- Province on 12 July 1992 with Sr. Diana as the first Vice Provincial with 107 members in 16 convents. Sr. Digna was elected Vice Provincial of the Vice Province in the Provincial Synaxis which was convened from 13 to 15 December 1994. The Vice-Province was declared officially a Province by Rev. Mother Marianna, Superior General, on 4 December 1997. Rev Sr. Digna was elected as the Provincial Superior in the Provincial Synaxis held from 9 to 11 December 1997. From 2001-2006, Sr Ann Joseph was the Provincial Superior and followed by Sr. Betty Tresa as the Provincial from 2006-2012 . At present, the Province has 188 members with 42 Formees in 34 convents and one residence. The Province is at present guided by Rev. Sr. Angel Grace as the Provincial Superior.
On 2nd August 2009, FCC Mission inaugurated its 50th Year. The splendid inaugural ceremony was blessed with the presence of the Most Rev. Albert D' Souza, the Archbishop of Agra and Rev. Mother Ceelia, the then Superior General of the Congregation, in the same soil and campus of Agra where the pioneers anchored in the year 1960. As a tribute to the glorious past of FCC Mission, the conclusion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations spread out as a three-day celebration at San Damiano Provincial House, Noida on 8, 9 and 10 April 2010 and a Souvenir was also released.
The sisters are engaged in different apostolic activities in the Dioceses of Agra, Bijnor, Varanasi, Kalyan, Rajkot, Ranchi, Thrissur, Miao(Arunachal), Cologne and Dar Es salaam and Morogoro (Tanzania). Education, Health ministry, Catechetical work, Evangelization, Prison ministry, Social work and charitable institutions like Home for the Aged, Mentally afflicted, Free boarding, Development and Awareness programmes for village women are the important areas of our apostolic activities.
