The Franciscan Missionaries Sisters of Christ the King (F.M.C.K.) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women that originated in what is now Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and founded schools, orphanages, homes for the aged and disabled and hospitals throughout the country. (Not to be confused with the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King from the USA.)

History

The congregation was founded in 1937 by Mother Bridget Sequeira

Bridget Sequeira

Bridget Sequeira was born in Goa, India. In 1937 she founded a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women, known as the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King . Its mother house is located in Karachi, Pakistan...

 (a native of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

) in Karachi, where its motherhouse

Motherhouse

The term motherhouse is used by religious Orders and religious congregations to designate the principal house or community for that group. It can be either for the entire institute or for a region....

 is still located.

Pakistan

The Sisters played an important role in the formation of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Karachi

Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Karachi

Saint Francis of Assisi Parish is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi in Pakistan.It is located on Siddiq Wahab Road in an area known as Old Haji Camp....

 in 1936.

Darul Sukun

Darul Sukun

Darul Sukun in Karachi, Pakistan is a home for children and adults that are rejected by society and their families because of a deformity or being mentally challenged. With four branches spread across the city, the one at Kashmir Road cares for almost 150 people...

 in Karachi, a home for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities, was founded and is run by the Sisters. On March 23, 1989 Sister Gertrude Lemmens

Gertrude Lemmens

In October 1939, at the age of 25, Gertrude Lemmens traveled from her hometown of Venray, the Netherlands, to visit her brother, who was a missionary priest serving what, at that time, were the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of India, but today are part of Pakistan...

, F.M.C.K., received the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam

Civil decorations of Pakistan

The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...

 award in recognition of her work at Darul Sukun and for founding other homes for the physically and mentally handicapped, the aged and homeless.

The congregation is also active within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad where Sister Nasreen Daniel, F.M.C.K., serves on the Justice and Peace Commission.

In 2010 in Pakistan there were 61 sisters still working in their various homes and ministeries.

India

Shortly after its founding, Mother Bridget traveled back to her native region of the country with some companions from her new congregation, and established the congregation there. It has since spread to various remote parts of India. The congregation also helped to train the first of the Poor Sisters of Our Lady, a congregation founded in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, India in 1939.

Due to the increasing numbers of members and apostolates

Apostolates

Apostolates are organizations of the Catholic laity devoted to the mission of the Catholic Church.-Explanation:Most understand the term "apostolate" to be synonymous with the term ministry, or outreach, such as "youth ministry." The disambiguation is seen when one considers that within Catholic...

 spread through various regions of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, a need was felt to decentralize the administration for better efficiency and organization. During the 10th General Chapter, the congregation decided to have two province

Ecclesiastical Province

An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...

: the Province of St Francis of Assisi in Pakistan and St. Clare's Province in India. The Province in India consists of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Archdiocese of Mumbai, Dioceses of Vasai and Pune. The Sisters are engaged in educational, pastoral, health and social work. Concern for the rights of the poor will be their main thrust.

A Formation House (a centre of learning for women who wish to enter the order) and Generalate (centre of administration of the congregation in the Archdiocese of Goa) for the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King was constructed in Old Goa in 2005. It consists of Classrooms, Dormitories, Refrectory with Kitchen and a Chapel in a two storey building.

Sr Pushpa Abraham was elected as the New Superior General of the Congregation on June 6, 2010, at their Generalate in Goa. There are 174 sisters working in remote areas all over India.

External links

News article from 2010 on the election of a new Superior General

Superior general

A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...

http://www.navhindtimes.in/goa-news/franciscan-sisters-elect-new-superior-general