Zeal to share Eucharistic love brings sisters to Corpus Christi

Fourteen of the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Corpus Christi are pictured in the back row, from left, are Sister Joemary Kallarackal, Sister Clerin Kodianthara, Sister Ann Annjose and Sister Jancy George. Sisters in the third row, from left, are Sister Kochuthressia Moolan, Sister Alphonse Kalapurackal and Sister Vimala Pallikizhakethil. Sisters in the second row are Sister Rency Moonjely, Sister Treasa Pannattuparamban, Sister Sibi Varghese and Sister Elizabeth Pathiparambil. Sisters in the first row are Sister Rosalia Aricatt, Sister Rose Paul Madassery and Sister Merlin Poothavelil. Not pictured are Sister Elsit Kollamparambil and Sister Merly Michael.

Contributed photo
 

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (SABS) was officially founded on Dec. 8, 1908, by Bishop Thomas Kurialacherry in Kerala, India. 

Thomas was born into a traditional Catholic family and he was a very pious boy. He entered into seminary to become a priest to serve the Lord. The long hours spent before the Blessed Sacrament in the Perpetual Adoration chapels instilled in him a deep personal relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist and an ardent desire that the Holy Eucharist be known, loved and adored by all, always and everywhere.

He wanted to bring all the people to the true faith and adoration which he considered would bring victory over the ignorance, faithlessness and adultery prevailing in his homeland Kerala and throughout India. While a seminarian in Rome, he dreamed that a group of sisters were adoring the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in his homeland.

The dream became a strong desire which gave him the impetus to found the Congregation for women to adore the Blessed Sacrament regularly (day and night), like angels before the Heavenly Throne.

What had once been a dream, became a mustard seed–planted in the minds of a group of women, which sprouted and flourished, as members grew in spirit and strength under the guidance of their patron, Bishop Kurialacherry. 

At the time of his death in 1925, the congregation had nine convents, seventy-three professed sisters, sixty-one novices and thirty-five aspirants. Later the congregation was nurtured and faithfully guided by his successor, Bishop Thomas Kurialacherry. The first perpetual Adoration chapel was blessed on Oct. 2, 1935, at Vazhappally in Changanacherry.

From early on the sisters were filled with missionary zeal. The congregation functioned as independent units in different dioceses in Kerala following the same rule that the founder gave. The unification efforts started in 1954 and became a reality on Sept. 15, 1963. The Church officially accepted the constitution of the congregation and raised her to pontifical status on Feb. 11, 1968.

Now we have 11 provinces in Kerala and 7 mission provinces outside Kerala in India. The fruitful missionary activities in India inspired us to venture into the whole world to make known the compassionate love of the Eucharistic Lord. We have missionaries in Germany, Italy, USA, Switzerland, England, Nepal and in East Africa. In 2016 the mission region in East Africa became a province with 89 sisters in 22 convents distributed in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

In 2000 we had our first convent in Corpus Christi under Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody. It was an absolute blessing that adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation comes to a place which is named after the body of Christ. 

Our charism is the devotion to the Holy Eucharist; the core of this devotion is a deep personal attachment to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Living with the motto, “Love, Sacrifice and Service.” 

In Corpus Christi, there are currently 16 sisters in four houses, who minister at the Mother Teresa Shelter Day Shelter, CHRISTUS Spohn-Shoreline and St. John Paul II High School. Our day starts with adoration for an hour. Wherever we live or work, we are privileged to have one hour of exposed adoration every day. On the first Saturday, we conduct one full day of devotion in CHRISTUS Spohn-Shoreline chapel and on the third Saturday all four houses considered to be one unit, conduct night adoration from 8 p.m.-4 a.m.

The zeal to share Eucharistic love urges us to go for mission work in any part of the world. We manifest our Eucharistic life in the context of the Church’s teaching, Eastern spirituality, and elements of Indian culture compatible with Catholic doctrine.  We are very delighted to say that we had the opportunity to open convents in South America in 2016. Our new convents opened in Brazil and Ecuador and Ireland.

Community life is critical in our congregation. It is the founders request that even if there are two sisters they have to do all the activities of community life. Word of God, devotion to Holy Eucharist, constitution and statutes help the members to grow deeply in the charism of our congregation. 

Today about 5,000 SABS from 19 provinces witness and transmit the Eucharistic Love throughout the world drawing everyone to the Holy Eucharist. To make Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament known, loved and adored, we are engaged in different apostolic activities like education, healing, social and family apostolates.

(Sisters Treasa Pannattuparamban, SABS and Jancy George, SABS contributed to this article.)