Small but Special! Epochs are born in a simple way from out of the lives of ordinary people! These men and women are primeval energies from the atom, sanctified already in the womb!These makers of history are often persons without any important historical background. They often do not have any historical roots to boast of! These are truly the saints of the universe! The wonder that these men and women evoke in our hearts is beyond imagination, deeper than the seas and higher than the mountains!“This indeed is the work of God, a delight for our eyes….” (Psalm: 118:23)
Thatipathri Gnanamma, a maker of history! Thatipathri Gnanamma, a young widow, founded the Congregation of Sisters of St.Anne – Madras for the empowerment of women. Gnanamma was born to devout parents in Guntur in Andhra, South India, in 1822. In 1837, young Gnanamma was given in marriage to Innaiah, the catechist of Phirangipuram. This pious couple was blessed with five sons. Innaiah always accompanied the parish priest on his pastoral visits. Soon after the birth of his last son, he went along with his parish priest to Chennai. On his way, he succumbed to an attack of cholera. Left all alone with five boys to bring up, Gnanamma, a widow of 37 years, put her entire trust in Divine Providence and raised her children strong in Christian faith. Her four sons joined religious life. The second son, Peter, settled in family life.
Freed from all family commitments, Gnanamma moved to a village called Eraiyur, 40 kms from Chennai since she had some relatives there. After six months, she settled down in Kilacheri, though she had no relatives there, to avoid travelling 25 kms every Sunday to attend Mass. During her time, education to young girls was an unimaginable dream. Though she herself was uneducated, she understood the value of education especially for women. Fr.Arokianathar, parish priest of Kilacheri, helped her to reflect effectively and to go ahead with starting a school for girls in Kilacheri. She went to her native place Phirangipuram and sold off all her properties and to invest in her school the proceeds.
On 3rd May 1863, a girls’ school at Kilacheri became a reality! Gnanamma’s commitment to the cause of women inspired Arulamma and Agathamma to join the school as hostellers. They both decided to dedicate themselves fully to the work started by Gnanamma. In 1871, they requested Gnanamma to let them help her in her great work and expressed their desire to do so as nuns. Gnanamma who was anxious to ensure that her work should continue, accepted their request.
At that time, Fr.Arokia Nathar, who was Gnanamma’s great support, was transferred from Kilacheri to Bellary as parish priest. He invited Gnanamma to send the two young women to be formed at St.Anne’s Novitiate of Good Shepherd Congregation in Bellary. After their initial formation, Arulamma and Agathamma became Sr.Angela and Sr.Philomena respectively on 04.10.1874. Gnanamma’s unstinted hard work, chronic asthma, her long and tedious journeys and her sacrifices took a toll on her health. She died on 21stDecember 1874, having received the last sacrament.
Her parting message to her beloved followers
“My beloved Children! Be obedient to those who are responsible for you! Listen to your spiritual guides! Along with academic and religious education to girls, be the protection and solace of women! Learn to live as women for others in your effort to translate love of God into love of fellow human beings! Do not be dependent on the Government or others financially! May your hard work be your protection and strength!”
She is a mystic and prophetic visionary
We wonder at the mystic and prophetic aspects in the life and spirituality of our Foundress Mother Gnanamma. She was in perfect union with God and so she could face a wide variety of challenges, uncertainties and setbacks. The divine energy within her was transformed of the time, identified the opportunities and explored possible solution to the illiterate women of the yester years. Her commitment, passion and perseverance still enable us to walk even through the untrodden path and take us to another level of development
God’s amazing grace and call to Gnanamma
Many a time God’s call comes in unexpected ways. It is amazing when we look at the life of our Mother Gnanamma in the light of the Word of God. She did not have any extraordinary ambitions or wonderful dreams. She was a humble widow, insignificant in the society. Yet,she was chosen by God to illuminate the lives of the illiterate girls. Her contemplation, courageous submission, creative response sowed the seed for a mighty Congregation:
(i). Her contemplative activism
As a mother knows her child, the artist knows his work, a musician recognizes his music and the contemplatives know God. They find themselves in an ocean of tranquility and they are free from external fears, cravings, desires, drives, pain, compulsion or attachments. It is said that the awakened soul looks at the reality at the deepest level and realizes the purpose of life. Mother Gnanamma though uneducated was aware of the factors that impede the access of girls to education at Kilacheri.
There might have been a number of problems that hampered the welfare of the society at that time. Mother Gnanamma identified the illiteracy of the women which was based on gender discrimination as a major problem to be responded immediately. The Lord who heard the cries of the Israelites inspired her to contemplate over the situation.
(ii). Her courageous submission to the Will of God
In the Gospel, we find how Mary was astounded at the message of God, but she responded to God’s call and so made herself ready for God’s service when she said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to Your Word” (Lk 1:38). Humbleness blending with courage, she recognized the greatness and holiness of God and consented to God’s Will. It becomes true in the life of our Mother Gnanamma too. Once she realized the need of education for girls, she sought after the advice of Fr.Arockia Nathar. Widows of her time were shunned by the patriarchal society.
Yet, nothing deterred her from starting a school for girls. The explicit example for her courage and commitment is that she went to her native place Phirangipuram, sold off her properties and invested the money in educating the poor girls at Kilacheri. Therefore, courage is essential to walk in the path of righteousness, express our solidarity with the poor and fight for justice.
A man of Macedonia pleaded to St.Paul in a vision, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16: 9-10). When he had seen the vision, he immediately went to Macedonia and proclaimed God’s message to them. The intuitive mind is certainly a sacred gift. When we are filled with Holy Spirit, we can explore the plan of God, discover our strengths and enrich others with new beginnings. As a woman of God, Mother Gnanamma was able to discern the Will of God and responded to the situation creatively. The transfer of her counsellor Fr.Arockia Nathar to Bellary did not obstruct her initiation in educating women.
Instead, she made use of the opportunity for the formation of Arulamma and Agathamma at St.Anne’s Novitiate of Good Shepherd Congregation in Bellary. We find certain events and experiences seemed to be very simple for us, but it will have great impact in the future. Knowledge enables us to see things as they are, but God’s grace exhorts us to see things as they could be.
In her, there was total surrender and commitment
The life of Mother Gnanamma was other – oriented and dedicated to the welfare of others. The following noble qualities of our Foundress exhort us to commit ourselves for the cause of uplifting the life of the less privileged in the society:
(i). She renounced
Once she realized that she had a Call to promote the cause of women, she sold all her possession and committed her assets to the realization of her mission by establishing a school for girls. In order to ensure the continuity of her good work, she founded a Congregation though she was only an illiterate widow.
(ii). She announced
Though she was a married woman, she lived a life of selfless service and a witness to Gospel values. Thus, she was an unprofessed religious. She was convinced that her work was God’s own and surrendered herself completely as a child to God’s plan.
(iii). She pioneered
Gnanamma carried out her responsibilities in spite of tremendous difficulties and challenges. Though a young widow, she brought up her five sons strong in Christian faith. She pioneered a school for girls against the cultural norm of her time.
We are in the footsteps of Mother Gnanamma!
Mother Gnanamma’s faith in God and passionate love for the poor enabled her to become a prophetic visionary of the 19th Century. The spirituality of Mother Gnanamma today calls us to rejuvenate our way of thinking and mode of action according to the present scenario.
By being contemplative, we need to live in accordance with the Gospel values, seek the ways of God, sharpen the ways to contextualize her vision and respond to the present situation.
By being courageous includes denouncing the injustice, renouncing the selfish motives, facing the challenges with determination and expressing our solidarity in the struggles of the poor.
By being creative, we ought to broaden our vision, foresee the future of the Congregation, revitalize our ministries by innovative methods and integrate the sources and the strength of the sisters to reach out to the people.
The spirit of Mother Gnanamma is vibrant that she captures the hearts of the people all over the world. Her daring step to abandon her own people and possession in order to empower the women through education enables us to explore new avenues to reach out to the marginalized. The grace of the Lord led us to obtain the title “Servant of God” for our Mother Gnanamma in February’ 2013. It is a great privilege for us to make her name known to the world. The continuous stream of people visiting her tomb at Kilacheri and the graces and favours received through her intercession has given us the impetus to desire to see her be raised to the altar of the Lord for the greater glory of God and the enhancement of faith and holiness of His people.Thanks be to God the time has ripened to approach the portals of the Church to request to initiate the process for the cause of Beatification and Canonization of our Foundress Mother Thatipathri Gnanamma.
