Missionary Sisters Of The Immaculate
Right from the beginning of the history of the Church, we have the testimonies of great men and women who left everything and followed the foot prints of Jesus for the Proclamation of the Gospel. Many are the congregations that sprung up in the church at different ages with unique Charism to care for the various needs, charitable works, Health care and educational purposes to facilitate an integrated life according to the Gospel Values. It is true that every baptized person is a missionary and all the congregations have this bounden duty to carry out the missionary activities. Yet, it is good to bring to our notice that Congregations with specific missionary nature are very few, who follow with commitment the Mandate of Jesus Christ, to go and proclaim the Gospel to all Nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28: 18 – 20 and Mk 16: 15).
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate (Nirmala or PIME Sisters) came in to existence in the Church on 8th December 1936 in Milan – Italy, to live concretely the Charism of Proclaiming the Gospel to all Nations in the spirit and missionary zeal of the PIME Fathers (The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions). Two women Sr. Giuseppina Dones and Miss Igilda Rodolfi were chosen by God to give Foundation to this exclusively Missionary CONGREGATION. Both of them were inspired by the writings and Missionary endeavors of Rev. Fr. Paolo Manna PIME a great and holy missionary of the time. In the year 2006, as a result of careful study and research on the writings of our pioneer members, we were able to identify four eminent persons as founding persons of our Missionary Family. Blessed Paolo Manna PIME, the Inspirer of the Charism; Mother Giuseppina Dones and Mother Igilda Rodolfi the Foundresses, and Msgr. Lorenzo Maria Balconi PIME, the Co-Founder (Then superior General of PIME).
Ours is an exclusively missionary Congregation, International and Intercultural, with a noble Charism: The Living Passion to Proclaim the Good News of Jesus to all Peoples, especially those who do not know it yet. To live it dynamically, we give creative expressions through various apostolic activities, making it a powerful channel for Evangelization.
– Pastoral and Catechetical ministry.
School Rules
Jesus the Sower and the Seed, the Apostle of the Father, is the mystery, which inspires the Spirituality of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate.
In the spirit of the beatitudes, we live joyfully our daily efforts. God blessed our missionary Family with vocations from different Nations and Cultures.
Following the missionary ambition of PIME, our pioneer missionaries reached India in 1948, our First Mission and then to Bangladesh, Brazil, Hong-Kong, England, Cameroon, Guinea Bissau, Papua New Guinea and Algeria and now aiming at sharing our Solidarity with the suffering humanity of South Sudan.
Right from its origin, our Congregation is placed under the special protection of Mary Immaculate, the Queen of men and women Apostles. Drawing strength and inspiration from the Holy Eucharist and the mystery of the Cross, we journey with Jesus the untiring Sower.
In India we have three provinces and one Delegation: Province of Vijayawada, Province of Hyderabad, Province of Siliguri and Delhi Delegation. We live in inter-cultural communities making daily effort to build evangelical communion, which is the primary means for Evangelization. In all our Indian provinces we have vocations from different states and multicultural backgrounds.
– There are 27 communities and one Formation House in the Province of Vijayawada extending God’s Kingdom in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Mangalore, Kerala and Orissa.
– 10 communitites and one Formation House in Siliguri Province, extended to West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand.
– 19 communities and two Formation Houses in Hyderabad Province extended to Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu
– 8 communities in Delhi Delegation extended to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
– The stage of Postulancy and Novitiate is combined for all our Indian organisms.
– The Total number of sisters: in the year 2012: 916
A brief note on our Holy Founders
Blessed Paolo Manna PIME: The Inspirer of the Charism (1872 – 1952)
Blessed Paolo Manna, born at Avellino in Naples, South Italy, possesed within him the spark of missionary passion and as he grew up, it blazed in to a mighty fire in the spirit of St. Paul the greatest missionary. He was a missionary in Burma, but returned to Italy due serious health problems. He influenced the youth of the time with his powerful writings arousing strong desire in their hearts to dedicate their entire life for the spread of the Gospel. He was the Superior General of PIME from 1924 – 1934 and contributed greatly towards the Foundation of our Institute by discerning God’s will and specific signs of His designs. He envisioned “a Missionary Congregation in the widest, highest and most sublime sense of the word”. He suggested the motto “Thy Kingdom Come” to make it our intense prayer and program of life to establish the Kingdom of God in our daily lives. His views and visions anticipated the teachings of the Council of Vatican II and stirred great missionary zeal among the Clergy. On 4th Nov. 2001, Pp John paul II beatified Him, unfolding his tireless zeal to expand the Kingdom of God to the entire world. Through His intercession, let there be a great renewal in the Church today, by empowering the youth to answer God’s call.
Mother Guiseppina Dones: Foundress (1880 – 1967)
She was born in Milan, Italy; wished to become a missionary at the age of 17, but joined the Congregation of Reparation founded by a PIME Missionary in Milan. From 1916 – 1934, she worked in the Press of PIME, with Fr. Manna in the Missionary Publications, awakening the missionary conciousness in the hearts of the people of the time. From 1917, she began to feel within her strong and powerful inspiration, ‘the need to Found an exclusively missionary congregation of women religious who could work side by side with PIME Missionaries. In 1919 she disclosed it to Rev. Fr. Paolo Manna, welcomed his wise interventions and remained pondering like Mother Mary, allowing herself to accomplish God’s will. She was a person of great God experience who placed her trust in the Father, in the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. She met Miss Rodolfi during the missionary Congress in 1927 and from then on, they worked hand in hand towards the Foundation of the New Missionary Institute for women, mean while welcoming many sacrifices for her personal sanctification in order to be a worthy instrument of God for his work. Her only passion was to live for Jesus, to love Him and to make him loved by all peoples of the earth.
Mother Igilda Rodolfi: Foundress (1899 – 1989)
She was born at Milan in Italy and grew up with deep love for Jesus. In the year 1914, her father brought home the first issue of the ‘Propaganda Missionaria’; a popular monthly magazine founded by Rev. Fr. P. Manna. While reading it, she felt within her the vocation of her life and exclaimed excitingly, “I have found it, I want to be a missionary”. She was timid, shy and weak in her health, yet in depth, there was a powerful spirit and unquenchable thirst for the Apostolate. She prayed for grace and strength as she struggled between her passion for mission and her timidity to expose herself. Jesus the untiring Sower and the Seed revealed himself to her and confirmed her Vocation by unfolding his mysteries through three unique Visions: 1)The sower sowing generously and seeds falling beyond the boundaries. 2) The Eucharistic Presence of Jesus, Master of the Whole universe, undistrubed by the natural calamitites or destructive powers of the world. 3) The Blessed Virgin Mary with the Holy Child in her arms giving her the cross revealing the mystery of the Cross, the Hallmark of a missionary even to welcome the envitable suffering through which God’s mission will be fulfilled. She gathered young girls and guided them with missionary programs and worked tirelessly to accomplish God’s Plan. After the agonizing and intense waiting in search of God’s will, on 8th December 1936, at 4 p.m. Mother Dones and Mother Igilda knelt before the Holy Picture of the Immaculate Conception, entrusted the New Family to her maternal care through a very simple ceremony laying the Foundation of the Institute ‘Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate’.
Msgr. Lorenzo Maria Balconi PIME : Co- Founder(1878 – 1969)
Msgr. Balconi was born in 1878 in Italy, ordained in 1900 and was sent to China in the following year. He committed his entire life for the spread of the Gospel. In spite of the persecutions and untold misery, He ministerd in China for 33 years. He was made Bishop of Hanchung in Shensi in the year1928. In 1934, he was elected as the Superior General of PIME and welcomed the decision of the General Chapter to start the Institute for Women religious Missionaries as a parallel Institute of PIME. He assumed the role of Paternity and did everything for its growth, Formation of members and expansion to Mission Ad extra. Time and again, he would remind the sisters saying, “Your Institute is Founded by God” as he witnessed the mighty work of God being carried out through the instrumentality of simple sisters who consisdered themselves as weak instruments in the powerful hand of God.
A brief note on our Holy Founders
These great persons have messages for the youth of today. They say to each and every youth, “We were like you young, zealous, ambitious and adventurous. Just listen to your own inner voice and ask your self, “What are you looking for?”
Don’t you hear a voice calling you?
Listen!… Ponder!
Take time and make your choice…
If you feel within you the divine spur…, Just pay attention to it.
Do not be afraid to answer God’s Call
You are welcome to contact us, We will help you in the process
God bless you
Our Generalate is in Rome
Generalate House
Missionarie Dell’Immacolata
Via dei Quattro Cantoni, 36
00184 – ROMA
ITALY
Address for Contact
Provincial House
Nirmala House, 6-1-280/1
Padmarao Nagar
SECUNDERABAD – 500025
TELANGANA
Phone no. 040 -27505329
NIRMALA HOUSE
17, Davis Road
Bangalore – 560084
Phone No: 08025472356