HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION
The Congregation of the Little Sisters of Jesus Christ (LSJC) was founded by Little Sister Nirmala Mary Panamthanam in the Diocese of Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, on 11th December 1984, under the patronage of the late Bishop John Mulagada, the first Bishop of Eluru. We embrace the charism of proclaiming the Gospel and living the life of Jesus in the Nazareth Way, as our Mother Foundress inherited it from St. Charles de Foucauld. Through our life and ministry, we actively assist the local Church.
Charism: We, the Little Sisters, proclaim the Gospel by embodying the life of Jesus in Nazareth. Inspired by St. Charles de Foucauld, we seek to make Christ known through a simple life of contemplation and action. Our charism calls us to embrace Littleness and Sisterliness, following the example of Jesus of Nazareth, who, in his humility and simplicity, reached out to everyone in love and service.
Vision: Guided by the Holy Spirit and grounded in Holy Scripture, we live our Charism and Spirituality as outlined in our Constitutions. We strive to promote wholeness in Christ in the everyday lives of our brothers and sisters, witnessing to the joy and integration of all children of God, who are filled with freedom and love.
Mission: We are called to live a humble and hidden life, following the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in both our life and ministry. We will willingly undertake any ministry or apostolic activity that aligns with our charism, mission, and discipline, while also respecting the universal law of the Church and the specific laws of our congregation. In doing so, we aim to respond to the needs of the local Church.
Our Patron Saint
ST. CHARLES DE FOUCAULD [1858-1916]
Soldier, Explorer, Priest, Hermit, Religious Brother
Charles de Foucauld’s spirituality was “to become nothing before God.”
Charles De Foucauld, also known as Brother Charles of Jesus, was born into an aristocratic family in Strasbourg, France, Charles was orphaned at the age of 6. He and his little sister were raised by his devout grandfather. He rejected the Catholic faith as a teenager, and joined the French army as it was the family tradition.
“My God, if you exist, let me come to know you,” was his prayer. Providence led him to meet Fr. Huvelin, a priest who would prove to be both a father and a friend to him. He was now motivated to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he was fascinated by the mystery of the Holy Family, by the relationship of Jesus with his parents and neighbours, working silently and praying with humility. He was so much taken up by the simplicity of the Nazareth experience, that he lived for some time as a hermit in Nazareth. Later he joined a Trappist monastery in Ardeche, France. Leaving the monastery in 1897, Charles worked as a gardener and sacristan for the Poor Clare nuns in Nazareth and later in Jerusalem. In 1901, he returned to France and was ordained a priest, there. He lived there a peaceful, hidden life but attracted no companions. Spirituality of Nazareth Charles felt that his call was not to imitate Jesus’ public life of preaching, but of imitating His hidden life as a poor and humble worker at Nazareth.
There are now nearly 20 branches of the family of Brother Charles de Foucauld in different parts of the world. One among them is the Little sisters of Jesus founded in the diocese of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, in 1984, by Little Sr. Nirmala Mary Panamthanam, under the patronage of Most Rev. John Mulagada, the then Bishop of Eluru.
FOUNDRESS – LITTLE SISTER NIRMALA
Little Sister Nirmala was born on September 28, 1939, in Nellimattam, in the Diocese of Kothamangalam, Kerala, to devoted parents, Mathai Panamthanam and Anna Patterumadathil. From an early age, her parents encouraged her to read religious books. One of the first books that inspired her was about the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (the Little Flower), which filled her with the desire to raise a family and bring up holy children. However, when she later read the autobiography of St. Thérèse herself, she realised that Jesus was calling her personally, not her future children. She felt a deep love for Jesus and yearned to imitate Him in serving the poor.
After completing her 11th grade, she joined the Little Sisters of Jesus in October 1957, in Trivandrum. A month later, she was sent to Varanasi for her Postulancy. There, she found herself drawn to the simplicity of the lifestyle of St. Charles de Foucauld, the patron saint of the Little Sisters of Jesus, which greatly resonated with the people of India. She continued her formation at the Generalate of the Little Sisters of Jesus at Tre Fontane in Rome, where she began her novitiate. On September 8, 1960, she made her First Profession, and on October 1, 1966, she made her Final Profession.
However, she soon sensed a deeper calling within her vocation, a unique call from the Lord. After consulting her spiritual director and obtaining permission from Little Sister Magdalene, the Foundress of the Little Sisters of Jesus, she returned to India, convinced that the Lord was leading her to a different mission: to bring the spiritual heritage of St. Charles de Foucauld to India. She took up this mission in 1974, after months of intense prayer. Her prayers were answered when Mar Antony Padiyara, then Archbishop of Changanacherry, invited her to his Archdiocese. He sent her to Pallathuruthy in the Alleppey district, where she was given a small building with two rooms to begin her mission. With trust in Mother Mary’s guidance, Sister Nirmala founded the new Institute of the “Little Sisters of Jesus Christ” on August 15, 1975. For a few years, her mission flourished, with many young women from nearby areas joining her, sharing a life of witness to the poor and the working class.
But God had further plan for her. In 1984, Sr. Nirmala was invited to Andhra Pradesh by the late Bishop John Mulagada, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Eluru. According to God’s providential plan, she re-established the Institute on December 11, 1984, in Achanta, a substation of Penugonda Parish, with fifteen pioneer sisters from Kerala. From that time, God continued to guide Sr. Nirmala and bless her work with vocations. As she has now passed into eternity, the Congregation of diocesan origin she founded has grown significantly. Its members continue to serve in various dioceses across India, as well as in Germany and America, living the Spirituality of Nazareth and drawing inspiration from St. Charles de Foucauld, now a canonised saint.
On May 12, 2022, Sister Nirmala was called to her heavenly reward. Through her devoted work and loving spirit, she left an enduring legacy wherever she served.