Fatima convent Gonda is situated in U.P, ,Gonda District ,Gonda Girth Village, as a part of the the Gram Sabaha parishad , under the Diocese of Lucknow, Parish named after Fatima Mata, OUR LADY OF FATIMA CHURCH ,GONDA

Situation/the need of the time of the erection of the convent school and dispensary. As the sisters of the congregation of Mount Mary left the mission in Gonda we were invited to take it over .The school and the dispensary were in existence and also were at the verge of extinction. As the school had no admissions coming in and the dispensary was about to be closed down, we were invited by the then bishop of Lucknow Rt.Rev.Bishop Cecil D’sa.

Ecclesiastical authorities of the time

Church authorities	Congregation heads	Sr.Animators
	Mother Georgia
Bishop Cecil De’ Sa	Mother Pauline	SR.JOSEPHA, SR.BORGIA
Bishop Alen De’ Lastic	Mother Merina	SR.SILVERIA
Bishop Albert De ’Zooza	Mother Albina	SR.ANNE THERESE
Bishop Gerald John Mathias	Mother Daphine	SR.JUDE(twice)
	Mother Liza	SR.SHOBANA(twice)
	Mother soosamma	SR.FLORINA
	Mother shahila	SR.ROSELLA
		SR.ROSEBELL(twice)
		SR.ROSE AUGUSTINE
		SR.DEEPA

Land of the convent as well as the house is neither brought nor gifted .It is given ,only for the use of C.T.C sisters.`we’ are also given the responsibility of the running of the dispensary in support of the school under the care of the fathers who are the head of these institutions.

East and west we have the housing colony called Awas vikas. North we have the villages and south we have the national highway leading to Basti ,Gorakpur.

6. Public facilities of the area

• Travelling
• Bus and train are the most common means of travelling- for short distances we use rickshaws and tempos.
• Hospital
• There is an eye hospital nearby and different private hospitals around the area. There is also a government hospital.
• Studies
• There is the facility of a university for the higher studies. Many of our sisters had been doing their degrees and P.G`s from here.
• Near and far from our institution there are many schools.

The hard endurance of the pioneers
In the very beginning the 3 sisters send to this mission found that they had to undergo a lot of sufferings due to hunger and sickness. As they were paid only a little sum as the salary to meet their daily needs financially had a hard time. At the end of the 1st year they became sick due to poor food and lack of proper health care and facilities of living. Still they made it a challenge to face and took it over once again under the superior ship of Rev. sister Borgia a great missionary. She dared to dream the days of prosperity and fame even in their poverty. She so boldly did reopen the school and the dispensary. The contribution of our pioneers to the development of this mission is praise worthy ,that by their fervent prayers and sacrifices ,above all, by the hard work and the efforts, they put in their best to bring up the institution ,and within a year they got a no. of admissions as well as an increased no of patients. Other than some disturbances in the presbytery there have been no record of any kind of troubles .In the very beginning years there had been flood and some earth quacks occurring as the befalling of natural calamities.

We had no religious houses/institutions around other than a mission station called Balrampur till the last ten years. In this place now there is a congregation called F.B.S(Franciscan sisters of Bon Sucours).

The patroness of the church is Our Lady of Fatima. When we speak about the miracles ,there is every day miracles occurring, as mother is the author of life we can see that our dispensary had been significantly believed to be a place, to place the trust and faith for people ,especially those who have no children come to us ,and they receive the gift of children .People believe that the child is the gift of the mother OUR HEAVENLY PATRONESS.

Shifts and moves

In the early days we stayed in the dispensary and from there when the convent was built we moved to the convent building which is existing now.

Neighbours and well wishers.

Rev. Fr.s Peter and Norbert had been always a great support. Mr.kunnu is a contractor who has done a lot of work for us who needs to be remembered.

Parocial activities undertaken

Sisters are engaged in youth formation& animation , sacristy work ,teaching chatechism, leading prayer groups ,scc etc.

No. of Catholic families in the Parish

There are around 20 families in the Parish. The relation with them during the past as well as in the present is very cordial.

Team of the sisters worked under the guidance of the superiors.

• Sr.s Josepha,Sabina,Percy,
• sr.s Borgia,Rosella ,Felixa ,Gracious,Maria Goretti
• Sr.s Rosalia,Cornelia,Alma,Mary xaviour,
• Sr.s Silveria,Roshni Joseph,Ambika,Little flower
• Sr.s Ann therese ,Dymphna, Mirtle , Elsina, Elsy joice, Vivian, Miranda Ancet
• Sr.s Jude,Ruffina ,Dolorose,Monica
• Sr.s Shobana, Litty,Mercy Vincent, Elsina, Francy,
• Sr .s Florina,Miranda, Bertholda, Deepa, Celine Antony ,
• Sr.s Rosella, Calista, Maria Goretti ,Telsy, MaryMargret, Sherina,Francy,Rose Angella, Meena, Vinaya
• Sr.s Rosebell, Jude, Annmolly,Jesana,Celine Micheal, Roshni
• Sr.s Rose Auagustine ,Rini,Celine Micheal, Nithya, Dolorose
• Sr.s Deepa,Francy,Lucia, Dolorose, Shoba, Vinaya
• Sr.s Shobana,Dhanya,Rose Auagustine,sherina,chaitanya
• Sr.s Rosebell,Sophy,Chetna,sherina

The major events taken place during the years .

Blessing of a grotto ,blessing of the new administration block & auditorium in addition to the existing building, & extension of the building of the school to accommodate the increasing no. of the students

Jubilee celebrated

Sr.jude,Sr.miranda,sr.francy

Jubilee celebration of the school ,Parish and the Convent

Ministries engaged and undertaken

Healing,education,choir,.youth ministery,prayer groups & parish activities

Influence of the diocese/ religious /neighbours/beneficiaries

Fresh memories of the fathers from Italy and our beloved Sr.Layola are to be nourished.

Helps or grants received from

Shanti Nagar Convent was the real support in the infancy.

Presence of any historicl /politicial monuments

Sravasthi and Ayodya are the main Historically important places .

Any fact that does not contribute

There is no fact to be said as that which discourages our presence in the place.

Natural panorama

The land area given for our use is nearly 1 acre. The total land area around, belonging to the catholic diocese of Lucknow is about 5 acres. Our house is surrounded by mango and other fruit trees, there is a fish pond nearby, Fathers are growing fish in it. It has exactly the outlook of an established institution and is surrounded by a vast area of unsettled land from behind the buildings. So the place is very calm and quiet even though it is in the middle of the city appealing to our need of silence and solitude for a better prayer life.

History of the Convent established.

As Mother Georgia had been in contact with the then Bishop of Lucknow ,Bishop Cecil De’sa ,we were invited to take over the mission after the sisters of Our Lady of Mount Mary who left the place , followed by them we too stayed in the dispensary in the early days. After two years of stay we were given by the diocese,( built for us), a convent building in which we are staying till today - we shifted to it. The pioneers were sr. Josepha, Sr.Percy and Sr.Sabeena. Due to poverty and sickness the mission proved to them a giant challenge. Sr. Borgia is a great missionary who dared to dream such glorious days in the history of this mission. Sisters did take real sacrificing and courageous steps . Conducting the fates, school annual programs etc. were really painstaking. Above all the prayers and adorations conducted in proportion to the hard endurances were never been left unanswered.

Battling with the continuous ill health many of them took shifts and were replaced too, by one or the other sisters even from other Provinces. Rev. Bishops ,Mother Generals and Fathers in charge were always supporting and caring .The parents and the well wishes were too benevolent with the matters of the school as well as the other areas of different sentiments. There was not a moment that we found ourselves helpless other than the childhood of the mission .We lacked nothing under the caring hands of our patroness Our Lady of Fatima. Every year the feast of our Mother is celebrated with great pomp and show .The number of the devotees gather from the different parishes of the diocese is increasing .

History of the dispensary and school

The glory and strength of the school as it is today , is the real hard labour of our dear sisters. It was our sisters who put their heart and mind to bring up the institution. Fete arranging and preparing the students for cultural eve`s were the innovative ideas of our great missionaries. Our sisters excel in their teaching profession ,and still being counted & remembered as the great teachers those who inspired the great students. Fatima school is considered as the pride of the city today .Parents rush to take admissions and also recognize us as sisters of Fatima. We are proud to complete 38 long years under the guidance of about 10 Principles.

Those who worked in the beginning stages for the upliftment of the dispensary had to go through a number of difficulties and it is still known for its charitable missionary care, love and concern. The real identity of this dispensary is of a first aid center for the students, but the number of people as well as children served by our sisters every day, are countless. It is placed under the care of the divine redeemer and healer who elevates all those in darkness by his eternal wisdom. The dispensary has been same as the school in the hands of the sisters of Mount Mary in its infancy. There were no patients and it was also supposedly to be closed down. Even though there is shortage of the qualified hands in this field still we have kept the name of the Fatima dispensary as a well known institution. People from far and wide is still visiting us to prove that the curing hands of god is still in act, following us making us really fruitful and successful labourers of his vineyard.