Guwahati, September 12: The Clarist Franciscan Missionaries of the Most Blessed Sacrament (CFMSS), Mother Seraphina Province, North-East India, has elected Sr. Bernadeth Kshiar as its new Provincial Superior. Hailing from Meghalaya, Sr. Bernadeth becomes the first Provincial Superior from Northeast India in the history of the Mother Seraphina Province.
The election took place on September 8 during the Sixth Provincial Chapter of the Mother Seraphina Province. The Provincial Superior and Councillors were elected through a process of secret ballot.
The newly elected Provincial team are:
- Sr. Bernadeth Kshiar – Provincial Superior
- Sr. Deepika Thekkanady – Vice Provincial
- Sr. Roshni Periyanayagam – Councillor
- Sr. Sitilin Warbah – Councillor
- Sr. Francina Pereppadan – Councillor
The election marks a significant moment in the history of the CFMSS presence in Northeast India. The Northeast mission was initially under the St. Francis Province, Delhi, which established its first CFMSS community at Jongksha in 1976. The mission subsequently developed through different stages before becoming an independent Province in 2006.
The CFMSS Congregation was founded in Italy in 1898, with its headquarters in Rome. Its first missionaries arrived in India in February 1901 at Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh, beginning a missionary presence in the country that later extended to Northeast India.
The Sixth Provincial Chapter is being held from September 1 to 14 under the theme, “Led by the Spirit, let us Reorganize Our Life and Mission in the Bond of Prayer and Fraternal Communion.” The Chapter brings together representatives of the Province for prayer, reflection, discernment and deliberation on consecrated life, mission and apostolic priorities for the coming years.
The Mother Seraphina Province currently comprises 30 communities and 191 members, with its members serving the Church through various apostolic and missionary ministries in India, Myanmar and Germany.
Sr. Bernadeth’s election is also being seen in the wider context of the growing emergence of indigenous leadership in consecrated life in Northeast India. An increasing number of religious congregations are entrusting leadership responsibilities to women and men from the region, reflecting the growth and maturity of local vocations.
In recent years, several congregations have witnessed the emergence of Provincial leadership from Northeast India, including the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) and other congregations. Congregations such as the Missionary Congregation of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB), Religieuses de Notre Dame des Missions (RNDM) and Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice (FMA) already have indigenous Provincial leadership in the Northeast.
The development reflects a growing transition from the pioneering phase of missionary presence to a stage in which local vocations increasingly participate in the leadership, administration, formation and missionary direction of religious congregations in the region.
For CFMSS, the election of Sr. Bernadeth represents the fruit of decades of missionary presence and the contribution of the pioneering sisters who established and nurtured the congregation’s mission in Northeast India.
The Provincial Chapter will continue until September 14, with further deliberations on the life and mission of the Province. The newly elected leadership is expected to guide the Mother Seraphina Province during the next quadrennium (four years), with emphasis on strengthening consecrated life, formation, missionary outreach and service to the Church and people of Northeast India.