CARMEL JWALA

At the First Provincial Chapter of the new Northern Province, Patna, held in February – March, 1991, Sister Mena D’Silva was elected Provincial Superior. The other members of the Provincial administration were: Sisters Blanda 1st Councillor, Teresita Mary 2nd Councillor and Secretary,Margaret Mary 3rd Councillor, Marie Isabel 4th Councillor, and Sister Hilda Crasta Provincial Bursar.

One of the most urgent needs facing the newly elected members of the Provincial administration in March 1991, was that of having quarters of their own, with space for office purposes, seminars and retreats, community living, and for sisters coming on personal and official business as also for a few guests. Besides, accommodation was needed for candidates and, in view of decentralization, of formation, for postulants, too.

The building of the New Provincial House was on the list of priorities. A plot was available on the Patna Women’s College Campus itself and the foundation stone was laid on June 7th, 1991, blessed by Rt. Rev. Bishop Benedict Osta, S.J., Bishop of Patna Diocese. In record time, that is, within a little more than one year and two months, the building was completed due to the supervision and painstaking efforts of Sister Mena D’Silva, the first Provincial Superior. The newly built Provincial House was named “Carmel Jwala” – Flame of Carmel, which was officially inaugurated and declared open on 4 October, 1992, by the then Superior General, Sister Mariella. Rt. Rev. Bishop Benedict Osta, S.J., concelebrated the inaugural Mass with the clergy present and then reserved the Blessed Sacrament in the new tabernacle.

Mother Theodosia, the great visionary, who had come on her wheelchair to be present at the inaugural session of the New Provincial House of the Northern Province exclaimed, “My dream for a new Provincial House, has at last been realized”.

The new Provincial House provides accommodation for the Provincial personnel, and provision was made for the candidates and the postulants too. On 1 December 1992, the candidates moved from Avila Convent, Patna, into the new quarters of Carmel Jwala, Patna. On 16 July 1993, 14 postulants were received at the initiation ceremony. Due to dwindling vocations, the formees of the Northern Province were placed elsewhere rather than at Carmel Jwala. In 2018, there were only 5 Postulants, so they joined the Eastern Province for postulancy with Sister Rani accompanying them as Directress of postulants. It was also a felt need to provide a ‘Come and See’ experience for the Aspirants. These were placed in St. Joseph’s Convent, Hazaribag with Sister Alisha in charge. Our 2 candidates were placed in Carmel Convent, Ranchi, with Sister Marie Therese as the Directress of Candidates.

In December 2014, a second storey with individual rooms was added above the first floor and simultaneously a lift was provided, to have easy access to the top floor. It was a felt need to provide better facilities, especially for the chapter members and to provide more accommodation, for the sisters attending retreats and seminars.

Carmel Jwala has also opened its doors to the sick and the infirm sisters needing hospitalization or medical check-ups. Sister Lily D’Souza A.C., the then Provincial Superior, left no stone unturned to provide all-round improvement by providing basic amenities to the sisters and the supporting staff, taking care of environment by planting fruit trees, securing campus drainage to prevent water logging after the rains, construction of a shed on the terrace for the drying of clothes, etc.

So, a long-felt need to have a Provincial House of the Northern Province in Patna, was finally realized in God’s own time.