Nepal Mission
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings” (Is.52:7) - Prophet Isaiah exclaimed, and later St. Paul repeated it in his Letter to the Romans. We believe that the feet of the CST Missionaries also have become beautiful and they are blessed by bringing the Good News to Nepal, a country of beautiful mountains and breath-taking panorama. God, in His eternal plans, sent the CST Fathers to Nepal to accomplish his Mission in this land. It is interesting to go through the historical context when the Fathers of the CST Congregation decided to have a foothold in the foothills of Nepal. Till recent years Nepal was the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, and to maintain that status intact religious freedom was very much curtailed by His Majesty' s government. Public religious worship and practices of other religions were prohibited. However, the constitution promulgated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in the year 1990 granted religious freedom to practice one’s own religion and provided a new openness in religious matters. On the other hand, in the year 1984 Nepal was separated from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Patna diocese and was announced “Missio Sui Juris” by the Vatican making it an independent ecclesiastical unit and appointed Fr. Antony Sharma SJ as the first Ecclesiastical Superior. In 1985 Diplomatic Relations between the Vatican and Nepal was established and Archbishop Agostino Cacchiavillian presented his credentials to the government of Nepal as the first Pro-Nuncio. Msgr Antony Sharma made use of these two opportunities in the country as well as in the Church, to invite Religious Congregations to Nepal to start new Missions. Little Flower Fathers also were invited by him to work and establish themselves in Nepal. Msgr Sharma’s cordial invitation, geographical proximity of Gorakhpur to Nepal, and the greater need of our services in Nepal motivated the Little Flower Congregation to venture into establishing Mission Centers in Nepal. The Vatican also motivated a few Congregations (The Pilar Society and the Sisters of Maria Bambina) to work in Nepal after the promulgation of the Constitution in 1990.
Another strong motivation for the Little Flower Fathers to start missionary work in Nepal was from the missionary enthusiasm of our heavenly patroness, Little Flower, who wanted to preach the Good News even to the remote corners of the world. The CST Fathers wanted to imbibe her missionary zeal to some degree and expanded our apostolate out of India – to Nepal and to Africa. Fr. Paul Chemparathy SJ was instrumental in helping us to step in Nepal with this purpose in mind. He introduced the CST Fathers to the people of Narayangarh where we had our humble beginnings in the year 1993. Nepal is a Land-Locked country and for most part of the trade it depends on India, because of its terrain border with India. Its northern neighbour is China and Nepal has a friendly relationship with this country, however, there is less access to China because of the Himalayas in the north. There is close cultural similarity between India and Nepal. 82% of the population is Hindus and the language also is of Indo-Aryan origin with Devnagari script as is the case of Hindi. By the restructuring of Nepal with the promulgation of the new Constitution in 2015, Nepal is divided into seven Provinces. We have four Ashrams in Nepal till now (2020). They are in three Provinces – Little Flower Ashram Parwanipur in Pradesh-2, Little Flower Ashram, Narayangarh and Navodaya Ashram Khairahani are in Bagmati Pradesh, and Sukshma Pushpa Ashram, Shehri in Nawalpur District is in Gandaki Pradesh.
Nepal Little Flower Society was registered in 1997 for the legal status of our activities in Nepal. The Society undertakes multiple programs, mostly among Chepang populated villages for improving quality of education in the government schools, for livelihood and promotion of culture. The Society also undertook substantial relief programs when natural calamities of earth quake and floods took place, and construction of houses for those who lost them. CST Fathers have four Ashrams in Nepal. However, in Bhairahwa Mission, situated close to the Indian border near Sonauli, which was established in 1996 by the Missio Sui Juris Nepal, some CST Fathers have rendered their services. There were only very few Priests in Nepal Church and hence Msgr Antony Sharma requested the help of CST Fathers to take care of the Mission, especially the pastoral needs of the sizable number of Catholics (and also of other Christian denominations) from Kerala and elsewhere who were students in Bhairahwa medical college. Fr. Cherian Elavakunnel, Fr. Mathew Puthenpura, Fr. John Kulathinkal and Fr. Sebastian Thundathil has rendered their services in this Mission.
Members
- Mission Superior: Fr. Roby K U Kizhakumkara CST
Nepal Little Flower Mission Society - NLFS
The Nepal Little Flower Society (NLFS) is a part of the CST Congregation of Gorakhpur-Nepal Province, which was founded on 19 March 1931 under the patronage of St. Therese of Lisieux. It has since grown into four Provinces, comprising 415 Priests and approximately 250 Seminarians. In 1984, the Diocese of Gorakhpur was established and entrusted to the CST Fathers for carrying out missionary activities in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. For the past 52 years, the CST Fathers have been devoted to spreading values such as Love, Justice, Equity, and Cooperation. Initially focused on Uttar Pradesh, their work later extended to Bihar, Nepal, and Tanzania. The organization's emphasis lies in inclusive development and empowering the poor and disadvantaged. In 1993, the Little Flower Province extended its missionary activities to Nepal by establishing the Little Flower School in Narayangarh. To facilitate the mission work in Nepal, a separate society named Nepal Little Flower Society (NLFS) was formed in 1994 and duly registered under Nepal's society registration act. Presently, the NLFS has five priests from the Little Flower Province and three CST priests from St. Joseph Province (Kerala) working in Nepal.
- President: Fr. Silas Bogati,
- Director of Social Work: Fr. Cherian Elavakunnel Joseph CST
- Asst. Director of Social Work: Fr. Jogin Thomas Valanakuzhiyil CST
- nepallittleflowersociety1997@gmail.com