The MSC community in India have been ministering to the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged for over 30 years, providing education, health facilities, spiritual guidance, and basic necessities to those in need.
Sharing God’s compassion
From training pre-novitiates to continue our missionary work into the future at the MSC formation house in Mysore, to ministering to the needy in the shantytowns of Bangalore, the positive presence of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has been felt across India as MSC members work together on a united journey of mercy, compassion, and love.
In the past 30 years, the MSC ministry in India has made a significant difference to those living in poverty in the slums of Bangalore, helping to build safe and secure homes, and supplying food, toiletries, medical assistance, and educational opportunities to vulnerable individuals and families. These local people have responded to our ministries with warmth and enthusiasm, and it is extremely rewarding for the MSC members in the field to see how these families have made use of the generous support of our mission friends, working hard to achieve better lives for their families and their communities.
Educating vulnerable children
In 2006, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart established the Chevalier Academy in Dindigul with the aim of providing a comprehensive education to poor and disadvantaged children. This project has been a great success to date, with a second phase of the school buildings launched in 2014, and fundraising for desks, benches, and computers completed in 2015. The academy caters to 1,500 children from 12 surrounding villages, and the majority of these children come from backgrounds where illiteracy is rife. With an eye to the spiritual, social, personal, and academic development of these marginalised children, this project aims to improve the lives of local people and local communities by enabling the younger generation to approach the future in a constructive, innovative way.
One of the main priorities for MSC members in India is youth ministry, as we work to enable underprivileged children to make well-informed and educated decisions in life. With counselling in healthy relationships and social development, and training programmes in career guidance and leadership, local youths are encouraged to develop an awareness of their place in the world around them. These programmes motivate children and young adults to be self-empowered, respectful to others, and confident and ambitious in their abilities, paving the way for productive social development and a brighter future for themselves and for their communities.
Ministry for the future
The MSC presence in India is a dedicated and dynamic one, and our commitment to carrying out our mission of compassion and hope is set to continue well into the future. Hridhayala, or the Temple of the Heart, serves as the MSC formation house in Mysore. The house is currently undergoing much-needed renovation work thanks to the generosity of mission friends in the Irish Province, who donated money to this mission project in the MSC Summer Appeal of 2016. The community here are devoted to helping young men who share the MSC vision and wish to join our congregation, and thanks to these donations, the community at Mysore can continue to educate and train future generations of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart as they dedicate their lives to providing humanitarian aid and spiritual guidance to those who need it most.