Bethel Convent, Permannur

With his hand ever on the pulse of the time, Fr Founder Mgr  RFC Mascarenhas answered the clarion call of God    which came through  the Parish Priest of Permannur Rev Fr Piadade Dsouza who was looking for a committed band of religious sisters who could take over  an elementary School which was started by Mr Diyog Norenz Dsouza on 13^th November 1928  the repercussion of the second world war not spared.  Bethany Congregation,  as it did elsewhere  from scarcity of food and the sisters needed a place where they could recover from their illness refreshed by fresh sea breeze.  The proprietor Mr Diyog Norenz Dsouza could hand over the management of the school to the Bethany  Sisters. A Small Convent was constructed under the leadership of  Mother Martha the Superior General and Sr Magdalene before sisters could come  to this mission  place. On 30^th June 1931  The pioneers Sr. Michael, Sr Berchmans, Sr Baptist and the Maid Dulcine  Bai travelled  from Mother House  by train along with Fr Founder Mgr  RFC Mascarenhas, Mother Martha and Sr Magdalene .

Enraptured by the scenic beauty of this place  Fr Founder Mgr RFC Mascarenhas must have felt the presence of God Therefore He has named the Convent ‘Bethel.’ The very mention of this name to the convent conjures up the image of Jacob of the Old Testament Who recognized the presence of Yahweh seeing  in the vision  the angles ascending and descending the ladder.  Fr Founder Mgr RFC Mascarenhas firmly believed that God will nurture Bethany which was yet in its infancy and that Mother Mary will intercede for Bethany and the Guardian angels will watch over his spiritual daughters as well as School  which was taken care by the sisters, he also name the School as  “Holy Angels Higher Primary School.” Since Fr Founder Mgr RFC Mascarenhas had a special devotion to the Guardian Angles he was addressing Sr. Michael the first superior of the house as the ‘Archangle’ and the Sr Berchmans who was placed as the Head of the School as the ‘little angle’. Fr Founder Mgr RFC Mascarenhas having received the providential gift of this place with a school and the conducive atmosphere acclaimed ‘ Truly this is the house of God , a door to heaven’ to these sisters  for they too needed a place where they could    recover     from their illness refreshed  by fresh sea breeze. Indeed  we the sisters of  this house  are happy to say  today that  we are happy in the house of  God and we are taken care by His angles . Soon after opening the branch house the sisters were able to win over the people  and in motivating them to send their children to school and  large number of students were enrolled . The Sisters would visit the houses  early  in the morning and bring the children to the school who would otherwise hide on the branches of the trees. At present this place has grown with the quality of education by the Bethany sister both in Kannada and English medium of instruction. the valuable presence of sisters is well appreciated by the Parish Priest as well as Parishioners and they have felt the real presence of  God in this house. 

History furnishes the genesis of Bethany Sisters’ pastoral evolution at Bethel Convent under the auspices of St Sebastian’s Parish Permannur. Active participation in the liturgical services, teaching Christian doctrine, preparing the first communicants, organizing Marian Sodality members, washing the church linen and arranging the altar, Participating in SCC meetings visiting families and above all educating the poor and the marginalized and the medical help to the needy through Divine Mercy  clinic, actualized the founding charism of the congregation. This place became a cozy cradle to nurture the sacred vocations to religious life to work for the various plots of the Vineyard of the Lord through Bethany and other congregations.

Permannur as a big, sub-urban town has everything one can desire and the fact is that most visible presence of the Bethany sisters happens to be in the very centre of the town. But Permannur also has ‘poverty pockets’ and regions far from the town where  ordinary workers’ families live in difficult circumstances. The most noticeable is probably Ullal Hoige area. The Sisters are accustomed to visit these areas on weekends. Most of them struggle in the sea to make a living either by fishing or extracting sand from the Nethravathi River. It makes  a difference to live close to them to provide pastoral and other services for them. Today the Bethany Lay Associates also have joined their hands of service to the society. They have lot of love and respect for Our Founder RFC Maschaernhas and for his mission. 

Since the providence has blessed the efforts of Bethel Convent from the very beginning, it will continue to sustain us through our future plan of tailoring classes,  making use of the commercial land either for rented shops or houses, and to continue with medical help through the Divine  Mercy Clinic. 

Pioneer Supeior: Sr M Michael BS