MISSION ORIENTED FORMATION IN THE CONGREGATION OF FSAG

       The formation and mission of women religious cannot be the same for all the ICL and SAL. Since, the specific character and Charism of each institute has to be retained, formation and mission has to be carried out according to the nature and Charism of each institute following the constitutions and other formation statutes, but the fundamentals remain the same always for all the institutes. And thus I am trying to highlight the mission oriented formation of the Congregation of FSAG to which I belong.
Short History of FSAG: The Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was founded by Rev. Fr. Michael Ansaldo, a missionary from Italy in the year 1775. He instituted the Congregation to work for the abandoned, orphans, destitute, widows and oppressed Dalits.  The simple and fervent religious life inspired many young women to dedicate themselves to the noble life in our congregation. Thus the Congregation was affiliated to the Franciscan III order on 4th October 1858, and was recognized by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in the year 1886, and it was elevated to the status of papal congregation in the year 1996 on 4th October. Today the Congregation has spread far and wide in India, in Myanmar, in Italy, in Germany and in Egypt. In order to facilitate the better administration and the development of the Congregation, it is divided into provinces in 1998. Pondicherry, Madurai, Andhra Pradesh in India and Myanmar, at present these are the four provinces in the Congregation.

       Animation of the Missionary Work: “We are called by God to be leaven in the world with the spirit of Christ, to spread the Gospel, to sanctify human beings and to engage in the apostolate of transforming and perfecting the world structure. According to the Charism given to us, as humble stewards of the diverse graces of God, let us use all our gifts to serve others (1 Pet 4: 10)”. The aim of the sisters of FSAG is to animate the missionary work. We are to live as leaven in the world with the spirit of Christ. Sisters work in the parish to help in the pastoral work of the parish priest. They teach catechism, go for house visit to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. They live in the village in order to animate the people to come together for their spiritual and pastoral welfare. They organize women association in order to bring together women and to work for their development. Every year five sisters are appointed for the animation of the missionary and they are duly prepared with proper formation and various studies in order to be effective in their animation of the missionary work.
Prophetic Role in the Missionary Work: The missionary should have a vision in order to carry out the mission work effectively. The sisters of FSAG are eager to do evangelization work; they should be given a chance to do that work at least for some time. This is a requirement of the constitutions. Therefore all have the role to play in a prophetic role in the missionary work. They carry out this role in two ways, one is through proclamation of the Gospel to the poor (Lk 4: 18), which means through catechism and other teaching methods. Another way of playing prophetic role is living the Gospel; it is through life witness communicating the Gospel.

        Effective Charity in Missionary Work: Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio,  exhorted the missionary to carry out the missionary work with effective charity. Keeping the exhortation of the Pope John Paul II, the prime duty of the sisters of FSAG is “to make a progress on the road to perfect charity. To fulfil this, we try to acquire the spirit of sacrifice of ourselves and renouncing of the world, and the spirit of prayer that enables us to be ever more united in the divine lover Jesus and we observe our duties firmly and faithfully”. The missionary work is done in a charitable manner. The sisters never get any remuneration for their evangelization work neither from people nor from the parish. The orphanages and home for the aged are only charitable institutes. Therefore, there is spirit of charity in the missionary work of FSAG congregation.

       The Missionary Work of FSAG: The Charism of the congregation of FSAG is oriented toward the needy and afflicted. The charism of the founder is well established in the life of the members of the congregation. Today the apostolate that the congregation is doing is the pure expression of living the Charism of the congregation. With this spirit of this Charism that the members of the congregation of FSAG engage in:

• Evangelization: announcing Jesus Christ as Son of God and Redeemer to all people.
• Social Action: involving in social action and transforming the society.
• Social Work: showing compassion to the orphans and the abandoned women and children. 
• Education: offering education and giving integral formation to our students.
• Health Care: providing holistic health care. 


        Mission Oriented Formation in FSAG: The aim of formation is to help the formees to become the Disciples of Christ experiencing the love of Christ and interiorizing values and attitudes of Christ in one’s own life. The training or the formation must be realised in the context of the heritage, tradition, spirituality and the apostolic activities of the congregation. This experience of the formation will involve and influence the whole personality, and lead a person to attain a complete transformation of life. Thus, the human, Christian, religious and apostolic formation is realised through the theoretical classes and practical training of the various stages. The initial formation and the ongoing formation play a vital role in the vision and the mission of a candidate. Therefore, it is important that the formation should be mission oriented. If not the mission may not be an effective one in the Church.

      Mission oriented formation was given prime importance in the congregation of FSAG in order to bring “Good News to the poor” (Lk 4: 18). The intention of the founder Fr. Michael Ansaldo, the spirit of the first members Mother Annammal and Mother Elisa, and the Charism of the congregation is to serve the needy and to liberate the oppressed.

CONCLUSION 


     Today the Church of India is in need of missionary work, such as education, medical care, evangelization work, social developmental work and other needed services. If the women religious don’t respond to the need of the Church, then their presence in India is useless. Therefore, the missionary work is very essential for the women religious in India. Knowing this fact, the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of St. Aloysius Gonzaga is ready to respond to the need of the Church in India. As a result the formation programme of congregation of FSAG is more of mission oriented. From the time of initial formation the candidates are given amble possibilities through various missionary exposures and input sessions to from the candidates with missionary zeal so as to work with the same zeal the missionary activities of the congregation. I don’t claim that the small study made on The Formation of Women Religious for Mission in India: A Special Reference to the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of St. Aloysius Gonzaga in India is an exhaustive study on the topic. There could be further development on the topic. It is only an initial attempt to understand the importance of the formation for the mission of the Church in the women religious life. All the more, I believe that my effort in this study will stimulate fresh thinking in candidates to women religious life, women religious themselves and the formators and the superiors will see the urgent need for evolving appropriate mission oriented formation.
 
                                                                                   

By
Sr.Indra Pauline.FSAG