Religious Sisters bring the joy of the Gospel to St. Charles Apache Mission School in San Carlos

 

San Carlos, Arizona, welcomed four new Catholic Sisters to their community where three have begun serving as missionary teachers at St. Charles Apache Mission School and the fourth works as a nurse at the local hospital. 

 

Mother Christy Joseph, Sr. Bincy Antony, Sr. Manju Mathew, and Sr. Nikitha Chungath are Daughters of St. Thomas. Their congregation was founded in India in 1968 and named for St. Thomas the Apostle who was the first Christian missionary to visit India. In the Gospel of John 11:16, St. Thomas said, “Let us go and die with Him.” This is the motto and focus of the Daughters of St. Thomas. 

 

As missionary Sisters, they are obedient to their superior, ready to go whenever and wherever they are called. They do so with remarkable joy that is evident to anyone who encounters them. The Daughters of St. Thomas proclaim the Gospel to communities that need it most and serve in schools, hospitals, and social work.  

 

Many of the Daughters of St. Thomas are born in Kerala, India, the primary region for Catholics in the country. “Outside Kerala, especially the north part of India, it is very difficult. They are against the Catholic Fathers and Sisters,” said Sr. Manju, who has been a Sister for 13 years. “I always planned to become a Sister. When I first spoke about this to my parents, they did not allow me to become a Sister, but I said to them, ‘I have to go, I want to go become a Sister.’ I planned to join the Daughters of St. Thomas because it is a missionary congregation and because I would be able to work among poor people.” 

 

Her companion had a similar experience. Sr. Nikitha shared, “When I heard about the Daughters of St. Thomas, a missionary order, I thought, ‘I also want to go to the different places in India and outside the country. I wanted to preach the Word of God.’ My parents automatically did not allow me to go. I said I wanted to go. After I finished school, I joined. After my profession in 2012, I became a Sister. Jesus was holding my hand. Then I went to Northeast India to work; there they knew Jesus, but they did not understand how much Jesus loves them and is guiding us. I had the chance to teach the students catechism and preach the Word of God. Now our parents are so, so happy! They say to other people, ‘My child is a Sister! She’s working there!’ Now our own siblings would like to come and join us and become Sisters.” 

 

Sr. Manju and Sr. Nikitha were both teaching in Northeast India when their Superior asked them to become missionaries in America. “We took the vows, we want to obey,” said Sr. Nikitha. “If you’re obeying, God will give you the grace. If we respond to Jesus, He will take care of everything.” 

 

The Sisters’ arrival in San Carlos was not made possible overnight. As the principal of St. Charles Apache Mission School, Lorraine Reves knew that the community had recently lost a Sister and that there was already a convent available. She also said there was a need for certified teachers, “I thought it would be nice if we could find some teaching Sisters to come and teach in San Carlos.” Reves consulted with the pastor, Fr. Madhu George, who had a connection with the Daughters of St. Thomas. “I never thought in a million years that anything would actually happen,” said Reves.

 

Bishop Weisenburger's visit to San Carlos last November launched the process of bringing Sisters to teach at San Carlos. “The Daughters of St. Thomas found us three Sisters right away,” said Reves. “I’m so happy because they will be certified teachers. I’m very proud of that. I just thank God because it has happened through a lot of prayer.” 

 

Sr. Nikitha said, “When we agreed to come to America, we knew we wanted to work the mission areas, not in the cities. I am so happy to be a Sister with the Daughters of St. Thomas because he came to India without knowing the language and culture. Like that, I came to San Carlos. I am so happy!” 

 

“When I see the Sisters and speak with them, they just carry a joy,” said Reves. “I can see a joyful presence. Even if they are suffering in some way, you wouldn’t know it because they just exude that joy of Jesus.” 

 

The four Daughters of St. Thomas arrived in Arizona on June 9 and just a month later, the Watch Fire broke out on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Reves and the three teaching Sisters happened to be in Phoenix for their teaching course, but the Sisters were desperate to return to San Carlos to be with the people they came to serve. “The situation is very different in India and America,” said Sr. Manju. “If something happened in India, we could go straight and do something to help, but not here.” The pastor, bishop, superior, and superintendent were all telling Reves to not take the Sisters back to San Carlos. They wanted to keep them safe from the fire. “It was dire,” said Reves. The fire was literally a block away; you could look out the back of the school and see the flames. It was really bad. Fr. George and I both thought we were going to lose the school and the parish. Fr. George would not leave. I told Father if it got bad, ‘You go!’ He said, ‘Jesus is here.’ So I said, ‘Then you get Jesus and you go! Take Jesus with you!’” But just like the Sisters, “he didn’t want to leave the people. It was very hard because the Sisters wanted to go back.” Instead, they prayed continuously, and the winds changed. “I thank the Sisters for their prayers,” said Reves. “The school was no longer in danger though we did have people who lost their homes.”

 

Starting this school year, St. Charles is open to Kindergarten through seventh grade students, thanks to the four Sisters. Next year, the school will expand to eighth grade as well.  

 

The Catholic school cultivates the faith and vocation of each student. Sr. Nikitha said, “In my experience, Jesus does not call directly. ‘Come Nikitha, you want to become my disciple.’ No! It’s not like that. Jesus does not call directly. It is a spark.” Reves agreed, “We have to keep developing that spark and help the students recognize that spark. If we sense in any one person that there is a spark, we want to nurture that spark. This is what we’re hoping for in San Carlos. I would love for us to have an Apache Sister or an Apache Daughter of St. Thomas.” 

 

No matter where the Daughters of St. Thomas are sent around the globe, they will joyfully proclaim the love of God to the people and bear the light of Christ with them as they go. Following faithfully in the footsteps of St. Thomas the Apostle, the Sisters hold fast to his words, “Let us go and die with Him.” Sr. Nikitha beamed and said, “Anytime, we are ready to die with Jesus.” The evident joy in such a statement can only come from a fierce love of the Father.