A COMPILATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL HISTORY OF ST.PAUL’S CONVENT, DADAR

Name of the Convent	St. Paul’s Convent
Patron	St. Paul
Titular Feast	29th June
Place	Dadar (E), Mumbai
Parish	St. Paul Church
Diocese	Mumbai Diocese
State	Maharashtra
Year of foundation	25th March 1966
Founding members	Mother M. Emmanuel, Sr. M. Faith, Sr. Ursula and Sr. Maud
Objectives	Following in the footsteps of our Foundress Venerable Mother Veronica we seek to enkindle the fire of Divine Love in the hearts of all God’s children. Through education and other works of mercy, seek to promote the Kingdom of values of Justice, Fellowship and Freedom, thereby bringing harmony in society.
Mission	Bringing quality to life by developing the social, moral, spiritual, aesthetic and intellectual aspects of the child’s personality.
Vision	Fostering excellence in education, holistic growth and global citizenship
Developments in decades	Ruby Jubilee (2006-2007) Golden Jubilee (2016-2017)

At the invitation of the diocese of Bombay , we, Carmelite Sisters of Trivandrum took charge of the girl students of St Paul’s High School, on 13th June 1960. It was a co-ed School run by the diocesan Priests of Bombay. Sisters M. Faith, Ursula and Maud attended the School on the re-opening day, 13th June 1960 .Sr. M. Faith was in charge of the girls’ Section. The Sisters resided at Gloria Convent, Byculla and attended the school daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

The foundation of the Convent was laid on 25th March 1966 on the feast of the Annunciation at 5.15 p.m. The foundation stone was blessed by Rev. Fr. Jonathan Dias in the presence of Rev. Fr. Roque Aroz, Sr. M. Emerita, the delegate and Sr. M. Audrey, Sr. M. Alexis, Sr. M. Angelina, Sr. M. Cleophas from Byculla. Sr. M. Anacleta, Sr. M. Gertrude, Sr. M. Juliet from Santa-Cruz, Sr. M. Faith, Sr. M. Ursula and Sr. M. Maud. Besides these Anthony Lobo, A. Doshi, the Staff and students of Primary Section were also present.

FOUNDATION OF ST PAUL’S CONVENT

19th May 1966 –Ascension Day – An auspicious day in the annals of St. Paul’s Convent. 52 of our Sisters from the convents of Bombay, Bassein, and Mathura arrived here in two big buses. At 11 a.m. Rev Fr. Jonathan Dias, the Parish priest gave us Benediction in the Parish Church of St. Paul. Then the Parish priest accompanied by his assistant, Rev Fr. Noronha, blessed our temporary quarters on the 2nd floor of a small building attached to the St. Paul Boy’s School. We also had the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. After that a small party was organised for the priests and visitors. Mother M. Emmanuel, Srs. M. Sophy, M. Flora, M. Faith, M. Ursala, M. Maud, M. Linda and M. Ruby formed the new community of St. Paul’s Convent. Mother M. Emmanuel, Srs. M. Sophy, M. Flora, M. Faith, M. Ursala, M. Maud, M. Linda and M. Ruby were the pioneers. Besides the school work, they were also in charge of the orphan boys of Our Lady’s Home. The academic studies and other needs of these children were taken care of by our sisters.

Stages of Growth and Development

In the course of years, the School grew up in number and in quality. Quite a good number of Catholic girls attended our school.

On 17th.Sept.1966, the sisters took charge of the work in the Orphanage of Our Lady’s Home. A meeting was conducted by Bishops Loginus Pereira and William Gomes to allocate the work to be done by our Sisters in the Orphanage. Mother Alexis, Sr. M. Angelina, Mother. Anacleta, Mother Emmanuel and Sr. Faith were present as well as Msgr. Lobo and Fr. Nelson Mascarenhas. It was decided that the sisters should help the priests to run the Home. Three Sisters were appointed to see to the food, clothing, cleanliness of the boys and to supervise their study class.

On 9 Jan. 1967, at the request of His Eminence –Rev. W. Menezes held a meeting in St. Paul Boys School Office. Rev. Fr. Jonathan Dias, Srs. M. Alexis, Anecleta, Emmanuel and Angelina were present. It was decided that the girls section should be handed over to the Sisters in June 1967. Rev. Fr. J. Dias promised to give the sisters financial help and provide all the furniture needed in the school.

On 19 Jan - Rev. Fr. Jonathan gave us a final letter of recommendation so as to enable us to get the necessary sanction from the educational department.

On 12 June1967-Our School re-opened. The girls were separated from the boys section and the sisters managed the girls in the old building of the Boys’ School. Sr. M. Charlotte was the first Headmistress of the girls’ school.

In August 1967-Fr. Fred Menezes, a Constituted Attorney to His Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, sent a letter to the CCR sisters at Dadar, asking the authorities to make use of the land to construct a building for girls education.

On 13 Oct.1967- The Parish Priest, Fr. Jonathan blessed the new quarters of the Convent School and the sisters shifted from the Church campus quarters to our new Convent. Rev. Fr. blessed the convent and celebrated the Mass in the chapel. Mother Alexis and Mother Anecleta with a few sisters were present for the blessing.

By January 1968- the building of the Convent School was nearly completed and the girls were bifurcated from the boys and they occupied the new building of the Convent School.

On 2nd Feb.1968 - we had the Inauguration of the new Convent. His Eminence brought the Pro-Nuncio first to the Convent where His Excellency cut the ribbon at the main entrance of the Convent School. The two Prelates were garlanded and presented with gifts and then they proceeded to Our Lady’s Home.

On 14 Nov.1968- Feast of All Saints of Carmel, we received the good news of the First Recognition of the Primary Section.

Since the inception of the School, the sisters had to attend the court cases of timber merchants who occupied 22 Galas on the convent land. During the course of these years, two of our sisters viz. Sr. M. Charlotte and Sr. M. Camilla, were given the power of Attorney by the then Cardinal to fight the case in the court. By 1980, we won the case and were able to obtain 5 galas. During this time, the most important event in the history of the Convent School was that a new entrance to the Convent School was built on Dr. Ambedkar Rd.

In 1968, the sisters took a loan of 6 lakhs, for the construction of the school building for which we had to pay an interest of 66000/- per year. The Srs. Organized musicals, fetes, canteens, films etc. to raise funds for the same. Some of our parents and friends extended a helping hand. Bishop Ignatius D’Souza very generously gave us an interest free loan of 1 lakh rupees. We also received a loan of 70000/-from Mr. Shah for our school. Srs. Ursala, Maud and Charlotte visited homes to sell tickets for the shows that were organised.

During the academic year 1985-86, the Principal Sr.Delphina received a grant from the Education Department to put up a Science Lab.

The students of St. Paul’s Convent High school have brought glory to the School in the field of Sports- at various Athletic Meets, at the Interschool –State and National level, especially in Hockey matches.

In the academic year 1999 - 2000, on the occasion of Yesu/Christ Jayanti, the life of our Lord Jesus Christ was beautifully enacted in in the musical under the guidance of the Principal Sr. Sharlet Xavier.

Though the CCR Sisters were working in Our Lady’s Home since 1966, there was no written contract made between the Diocese and the Congregation at the initial stage. The first contract was signed on 19 August 2000, between Archbishop Ivan Dias, Director of OLH, and our Mother General Sr. M. Frances. Thereafter on March 12, 2004 a new contract was made and signed by the Archbishop, Director and Sr. M. Frances at the request of CCR sisters.

A grand celebration was organised at St. Paul’s Convent School to mark the Death Centenary of our Foundress, Mother Veronica. In memory of Mother Veronica a Calendar showcasing all the important activities and achievements of current academic year was released by the Chief Guest our very own ex-student Sr. Floripe D’Silva, the then Provincial of our Province.

Yet another praiseworthy event in the year 2006-2007, was the celebration of the Ruby Jubilee. It was indeed a matter of pride for the Sisters of the CCR who had rendered 40 yrs of selfless service to the school. During these years the Institution has grown from strength to strength. At this celebration the school released the first Souvenir ‘Pauline Sparkle’.

On Dec. 24 ,2007- St. Paul’s Convent students were selected from among the ABE schools, to felicitate, His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, on the occasion of his first birthday as the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Bombay.

“Tiny seeds make boundless harvest, drops of rain compose the showers, seconds make the flying minutes, and the minutes make the hours.” The culmination of our Golden Jubilee was celebrated on two consecutive days i.e. 29th and 30th November 2017, with a theme ‘AGLOW TO SET A GLOW’ …..50 years of Excellence 1967-2017.

Sisters in St. Paul’s at the Helm down the years

The Manager

Sr. M. Emmanuel, Sr. M. Eugenie, Sr. M. Esperance, Sr. M. Sophy, Sr. M. Alexandra, Sr. M. Lydia, Sr. M. Edwina, Sr. M. Scholastica, Sr. M. Camila, Sr. M. Charlotte, Sr. M. Eulalia, Sr. Lilian D’Mello, Sr. Elvira, Sr. Beryl, Sr. Floripe, Sr. Charmaine.

Principals:

Sr. M. Charlotte, Sr. M. Faith, Sr. M. Lewina, Sr. M. Delphina, Sr. M. Edwina, Sr. Ansela D’Mello, Sr. Monica D’Mello, Sr. Bertha D’Mello, Sr. Tanuja Waghmare, Sr. Monica D’Mello, Sr. Therese D’Mello, Sr. Agnes, Sr. Sharlet Xavier and Sr. Mary Pamela.

By the grace of the Almighty we are able to carry on the good work which has been started by our pioneer sisters. May God bless those who worked tirelessly and may He grant eternal rest to those who are no more,

The above history was originally compiled in the year 2019, with the help of the chronicles as well as the oral information from the sisters who lived in this place.

It has been updated as and when needed with inputs from various sources.