CHRONICLE OF SAT

The Congregation of the sisters of St. Anne of Tiruchirapalli originated in the 19th century, when child marriages, leading to early widowhood, were rampant even among the Catholics. Widows were treated as social outcasts and subjected to inhuman treatment. Our Foundress, Rev. Mother Annammal was born in 1836 at Varaganeri, Palakarai, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. Cholera devasted the society and widowed many young girls, including our Foundress. Since remarriage was not permissible in the society, they were considered a burden and treated like slaves by their own families.

Our Foundress heard the divine call to bring succor to the widows. She tenaciously wandered about begging for the sick and the needy, educating the children and praying with the Sakkiliar community. Inspired by her service, many young widows were drawn towards her service to the disadvantaged sections of the society.

The considerable number emboldened her to approach the Bishop of Tiruchirapalli, His Excellency, Bishop Alexis Canoz S.J. to start a community for the widows. Due to financial constraints, the permission was denied to her. On her assurance to bear the financial burden on her shoulders, the permission was granted to her by the Bishop. The vibrant and noble thoughts of a great woman sowed the first seed for the Vocation of St. Anne’s Congregation, Tiruchirapalli to liberate the Indian widows from the shackles of inhuman and irrational social conventions and empower them to carry out the mission of service to the unreached and excluded. Rev. Mother Annammal trusted divine providence and founded the first community with nine widows on 2nd February, 1858.

An unprecedented reformation was wrought by the power of the human spirit enshrined in the heart of the foundress, Mother Annammal. Her ministry among the poor, the sick and the downtrodden showed her Other Centeredness. She discovered God in the poorest and suffering multitude. Her faith in God inspired the sisters to follow her foot path in their multi farious services during the last 155 years in the annals of the Congregation. With the support of the local churches, their Ministry encompassed several dioceses in India and other parts of the world. The members of the Congregation strive to live up to the charism of the foundress “Simplicity in Life and Service to the Poor” and commit themself to the cause of the socially marginalized. Their human ministry has taken different dimensions in evangelical, educational, social and medical fields, with a special thrust on the uplift of the differently abled persons.