"As you desire to commit yourself to the devout life, you must not only turn away from sin but you must completely cut away from your heart every attachment connected with sin. Otherwise there is first of all the danger of falling back to sin. Besides, these unhappy attachments will constantly waken your spirit, and make it sluggish so that you will not be able to do good works promptly, carefully, and frequently."

- St. Francis de Sales

Greetings of peace and joy to you from the Provincialate

On the solemnity of Christ the King, I wish you all a very happy Feast and the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the universal King. The solemnity of this Feast is not just the conclusion of the Liturgical year, but most importantly, it heralds the advent of the Messiah into this world, who is Christ our Lord,  the King of the Universe.

Through the celebration of the solemnity of the Christ the King, our Holy Mother Church offers us an another opportunity to prepare ourselves individually and collectively, spiritually and liturgically to receive the Messiah into our hearts, our lives and families and thus once again begin ourselves the journey towards the Kingdom of God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal King had no army, no palace and no servants and
yet He was the King and the King of all kings who continues to reign and rule over
the world with His law of Love and Service. Jesus earned his kingship not by force or
fear but by first becoming a servant of all. “If you want to become great,” he taught
his disciples, “you must first become a servant.” Jesus, the King of kings and the
Lord of Lords, washed the feet of his disciples, fed the hungry, took pity on those
who suffered, ate with sinners, forgave sins, spoke out against injustice, challenged
the status quo, welcomed the social outcasts, and took on the mantle of poverty and
obscurity. Although he existed in the form of God, Jesus did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but became human and lived among those deemed
unworthy and marginalized by society.

Exactly a month back, we concluded our 8 th Provincial Congress 2017 committing
ourselves to live the Gospel and to bear witness to our Lord and King Jesus Christ
through our fraternal living and loving one another and thus become another Jesus
Christ in love and service. May our eternal King continue to rule our hearts, lives and
our Province.

GUIDELINES ON FRANSALIAN ASSOCIATES

Fransalian Associates are men and women who commit themselves to embrace the
vision and spirituality of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales. They, in a special
way, share in our vision of living the Gospel, live and radiate the Spirituality of St.
Francis de Sales and collaborate in our mission. The Guidelines of the Fransalian
Associates of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales have been printed in the form
of a booklet which provides a base and directives for both the Missionaries and the
Associates to clarify and strengthen their bond. Every confrere is requested to have
a copy of the booklet and encourage committed men and women to be a part of the
Fransalian Associates. The coordinating team of the Province consists of Fr Mario
d’sousa msfs (coordinator), Fr Johnson Gonsalves msfs, Fr Valerian Carvalho msfs,
Fr Adaikalarajan msfs and Fr John Kennedy msfs.

CONGREGATION RETREAT

The year 2018 has been set apart for the Congregation Retreats animated by a
team of MSFS confreres throughout the Congregation. It’s an obligation for all of us
to participate in this Congregation Retreat and renew ourselves individually and
collectively as part of our ongoing formation. For our Province, the first Retreat will
be held at Harmony, Belgaum from 25-30 June 2018. May I request especially all
those who did not attend the last Retreat to participate in this Retreat. The second
Congregation Retreat will be animated from 13-17 November 2018. (Kindly note that
the envisaged Province Retreat in February 2018 has been postponed to 25-30 June
2018 due to the different Forum Meetings to be held in our Province on those days).

PREPARATION FOR THE GENERAL CHAPTER 2019

We are already in the process of seriously preparing ourselves for the forthcoming
20 th General Chapter 2019. We are invited to prepare ourselves individually and
collectively through a serious study, reflection and evaluation of our life and mission,
in the light of our religious commitments and apostolates. For our adequate
preparation, three Reflection Papers have already been sent to you for study and
reflection at Personal level, Local Community level, and Apostolic Community level.
All the superiors of the communities shall ensure that the three papers are read out
and reflected in all our community programmes. You are requested to follow the
guidelines of the three preparatory study papers and send your responses as per the
directives.

The Pune Province was constituted on 10th August 1996. The expanding Maharashtra-Goa Province was bifurcated into the Pune and Nagpur Province to enhance growth in personnel and apostolic effectiveness.

The "Decree of Erection of Two Provinces from the Province of M-G promulgated by the Superior General, Rev. Fr. Emile Mayoraz, on 15th August 1995", states: (Number 10)

All confreres of the undivided M-G Province are consulted by secret ballot for the appointment of the two Provincials. This process of consultation for appointment of Provincials should be completed by October-November 1995, so that the outgoing Provincial and the two Provincials can work together on the detailed modalities of the division of the Province, before the two Provinces come into existence, respectively on the 10th August 1996 and on the 15th August 1996

The Pune Province consists of the Dioceses of Belgaum, Goa, Pune, Bombay, Vasai, Gandhinagar, Sindhudurg, Salem, Ajmer and Jaipur. This Province which launched out with forty-eight Priests, two Brothers and a few Scholastics and Candidates.

Communities

We have 26 constitutionally constituted communities, 24 in India, one in Zambia and one community in Germany and 2 Centres in Australia. Other members who are working and studying alone are affiliated to one of the communities in India

Provincials

The first Provincial, Fr. Jerson D'Souza, took charge of the administration on 10th August 1996. Following which the province has had two other able leaders in the Persons of Fr. Mario D’souza for two terms and Fr. Vincent Lourduswamy who is serving the province for the second term.

Province apostolate

The Province activities include areas of education, parish missions, preaching ministry, youth apostolate, literacy programme, rehabilitation of street children, ministry to the physically and partially mentally handicapped children, empowerment programme for village women and other social apostolates as needed in the mission places and its people. Mission centres located in the remote rural areas of India and economically and socially backward are also under the purview of the Province. 

New Centres Initiated

Hindaun in Jaipur diocese, Bileshwarpura in Gandhi Nagar diocese, Nippani in Belgaum diocese, Daman Mission in the Arch diocese of Goa, Hathikheda in Ajmer diocese, Renewal Centre (Belgaum) and a parish in Kabwe diocese, Zambia.

Mission Overseas

We have 3 confreres working in Switzerland, 5 in Germany, 5 in Australia, 2 in the USA and three in Zambia.

Members in Heaven

We thank God for the gift of 3 members who are in eternal life,  Fr. Anthony Fernandes, Fr. S.M Peter and Fr. Clement Mendonca who have joined the galaxy of stars in heaven. These and others are praying for us.