Welcome to
Little Flower Province
Little Flower Congregation (CST Fathers)
Little Flower is one of the four Provinces of the Little Flower Congregation (CST Fathers). This Congregation is founded by Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Panat aka Fr. Basilius (1891-1976).
Upcoming Programs
— What We are
Our Charism
The charism of our congregation is derived from the beatitude of the Littleness of the poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3) taught by our Lord who emptied himself taking the form of a slave (Phil. 2:7). Our heavenly patroness experienced God of the Bible as one who has preferential love for ‘the lowly’ (Wis. 6:6) and ‘the little’ (Prov. 9:4). The words of Jesus inviting the little children as revealing the mystery of the Kingdom of God (Mt. 18:1-4) fascinated her. The little children represented the lowly, the helpless, the insignificant, the down-trodden and the marginalized (Lk. 14:21). Little Flower practiced and taught this littleness through her life of absolute surrender to God. This enabled her to find God as a loving Father and to approach Him with the simplicity of a child. The dynamism of this child- like approach was her love, trust and absolute surrender to God. Our charism in short is Be Little; Serve the Little. This means imbibing the attitude of the child like simplicity, love, trust and absolute surrender to God in the context of the Gospel teaching and Theresian Spirituality.
Vision Statement
To promote the values of the Kingdom of God—truth, justice, equity, love, freedom, and peace—by empowering the marginalized, especially women, youth, and children, through pastoral care, missionary service, education, rural development, and the proclamation of the Good News, fostering dignity and fullness of life for all.
Our Mission
Every Christian is called to the perfection of love. Religious life is a special call to a radical and intense life of evangelical counsels to become a visible sign of the fullness of life already started here on earth. For this God has called us to the Little Flower Congregation, an evangelical community of religious priests.
Our Patroness
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, known as the Little Flower, is the patroness of the Congregation. St. Thomas the Apostle, our father in faith and St. Francis Xavier, the second apostle of India, are our sub-patrons. Mary, the mother of God and St. Joseph are our protectors.
Our Founder & Inspiration
Father Basilius Panat was born on 15 February 1891 at Kothanalloor. He grew up in Chalil, a coastal village near Cherthala, Alapuzha. After completing his schooling he joined the diocesan seminary, Eranakulam in 1909 and was ordained priest in 26 December 1918. He began his priestly ministry as assistant parish priest at the Forane Church, Vaikom and as the parish priest of Mookannur in 1924 along with the charge of nearby Orphanage caused the beginning of the "Little Flower Brotherhood" in 1931. In 1945 it was reorganized as clerical Congregation. It was raised to Pontifical Status in the year 1996 and spread out in many countries. Fr. Basilius, the man of humble origin and simple life, inspired by the words of our Lord "go and do likewise" (Lk.10:37), responding to the varied experiences of the common people continues his saga still today through Little Flower Congregation. He was called to Eternal rest on 4 October 1976.
Provincial Administration
Fr. Sabu Varkey Kandamkettiyil CST
Provincial Superior Little Flower Province, Gorakhpur
(Religious Disciplne, Formation and Provincial Administration)
Fr Joby Mamalassery CST
Vicar Provincial
(Department of Evangelization and pastoral Ministry)
Fr Francis Kilivallickal CST
Provincial Councilor
(Department of Social Apostolate)
Fr. Jojo Vadakkel CST
Provincial Councilor
(Department of Education)
Fr. Benny Paul ThekkumKattil CST
Provincial Councilor
(Department of Finance)
Fr Manjush Srakath CST
Provincial Auditor & Archivist
Birthday
Fr. Jose Paul T Thottumarickal CST
Fr. Sabu Varkey Kandamkettiyil CST
Fr. Thomas Cherusseril CST
Feast Day
Fr. Bibin Thekkanal CST
Fr. Abin Panamthottam CST
Obituary
Fr. Sebastian Thundathil CST
Fr. Joseph Thookuzhy CST
Our Members
Browse the full member directory — birthdays, feast days and more, all in one place.
View All MembersOur Congregation & Provinces
The Founder was a true disciple of Jesus who travelled to many places carrying the light of the Gospel and proclaiming Christ everywhere. He was deeply inspired by St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and was also a sincere follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Through his vision and dedication, the Congregation gradually expanded and became firmly established in various parts of Kerala and beyond.
Today, the Congregation has spread across the world, with 400 priests and 200 seminarians proclaiming the Good News through diverse ministries under the leadership of four Provinces. These are the St. Thomas Province (Kozhikode), the Little Flower Province (Gorakhpur–Nepal), the Kristu Jyothi Province (Punjab–Rajasthan), and the St. Joseph’s Province (Aluva).
Our Institutions
Click on logos to launch Websites
