Mother Yvonne Reungoat, the 9th Superior General of FMA visits Kolkata

- Sr. Stella P

Kolkata province of Mary help of Christians was at the Zenith of joy as the 9th successor of their co-foundress St. Mary Mazzarello, Sr. Yvonne Reungoat paid her maiden visit to Kolkata. The occasion of this mega event was the Triennial Evaluation carried out by PCI (provincial conference India). The provincial conference India for the Triennial Evaluation consisted of seven provincials across the country, two sister delegates and one laity and one young person from each province, Mother General Yvonne Reungoat, 4 General councilors, Sr. Alaíde Deretti - Councillor for the Mission, Sr. Runita Galve Borja - Councillor for Youth Ministry, Sr. Lucy Rose Ozhukayil - Visiting Councillor and Sr. Phyllis Neves - Visiting Councillor.

On 24 January 2018 was a memorial day in the annals of the province, the commencement of the Triennial Evaluation. It commenced with a well prepared Morning Prayer and the solemn Eucharistic celebration presided by Most Rev. Thomas D’Souza, the Archbishop of Calcutta. In his homily he highlighted the tenderness an compassion so much desired by St. John Bosco our father and founder, drawing his inspiration from the life of St. Francis de Sales whom he gave as the patron. The inaugural welcome by the host province was indeed breathtaking and mesmerizing. 

The participants were escorted to the auditorium around 700 students of Auxilium School depicted the culture of West Bengal through various art forms that attracted the attention of all.The representation of leaders and luminaries like Swami Vivekanada, Rabindranath Tagore and Mother Teresa, the Saint of the Gutters stirred our hearts. After the ceremonial welcome done by the three schools of Bandel, Barasat and Dum Dum beloved Mother General enthralled the audience with her affectionate message. She had great appreciation for the artists and staff for such a wonderful performance. Mother General spoke to the participants about the beauty of our vocation as believers. She said that we need to ‘let ourselves be found by the Lord Jesus’. Only an encounter with Jesus can help us encounter others. This was followed by group discussions which helped the participants to deepen their reflection on her talk.