Photo credit @ smensah
by Sr Pauline Clark FMA
150th CELEBRATION OF FOUNDATION
On August 5th, 1872, St Mary Mazzarello and her 10 companions made their vows in the little chapel in the College at Mornese and became the first Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
This beautiful title, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians was given to us by Don Bosco, so that we could be a living monument of his gratitude to Mary, and he asks us to extend his thanks throughout time. We are a congregation that Mary most Holy inspired, and she continues to be our Mother and Teacher. We are therefore, “a religious family” that belongs entirely to Mary.
As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our foundation, we recall our mission to serve young people and to teach them about Jesus, with the specific aim of helping each young person to find their vocation in life. In 1872 there were 11 Sisters in a tiny village of 5 square miles and today 150 years later, we are 11,000 sisters working in 97 countries in all the continents.
In 1902, the first Salesian Sisters came to Battersea, and despite the lack of language they began their work for young people, supporting the work of the Salesian Fathers and gradually moving into the area of education in the local primary school. Over the past 130 years the Salesian Sisters have been a vital part of Battersea in the school, the parish and the locality, always putting young people at the centre of their lives. Our presence spread throughout the UK
As we celebrate the 150 years of our Institute, we give thanks for all the sisters who have worked here in Battersea over the years, and as our province is being reshaped yet again, we rejoice in the fact that Battersea will continue to be one of our lifegiving presences into the future. Holding onto the certainty of the presence of Mary Help of Christians, the strength of Mother Mazzarello’s words, “Courage! Let us go forward with a big and generous heart” (L 47,12), and the invitation of Pope Francis in his visit to the Chapter members on 22 October 2021, “not to forget the grace of the origins”, we look to the future with hope.
As we renew our vows in this mass of celebration we recall Don Bosco’s words, “The Institute will have a great future if you keep yourselves simple, poor, and mortified”, and we ask Mary Help of Christians to encourage other young women to come and join us as consecrated women working for young people. Our last general chapter encouraged us to rediscover the value of our “Presence” to all people and we give thanks for the special presence of Mary in the Institute and her powerful help”, which encourage us to go forward with enthusiasm on the journey, feeling “accompanied, preceded, guided by Her.”
We can access pictures of the event from the Flickr album of the Parish courtesy of Bro Stephen Mensah SDB.
The livestreaming of the mass presided by Bishop Philip Moger is available on the parish Facebook page. Courtesy Bro Luka Grgatovic SDB.