From left, Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil, Sister Lucinda Salboro, Sister Meristella Umdor and Sister Ruth Zonunthari pose with Bishop Larry Silva, priests, deacons and members of the St. Elizabeth Samoan choir after the Mass Oct. 5 celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of their order, the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians.
Story and photos by Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald
From left, Sister Meristella Umdor, Sister Ruth Zonunthari, Sister Lucinda Salboro and Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil get ready to cut their anniversary cake at the reception following the anniversary Mass.
Hawaii’s four Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians commemorated the 75th anniversary of the founding of their order with hundreds of their closest friends with a Mass and dinner at St. Elizabeth Church in Aiea Oct. 5.
Bishop Larry Silva and 10 priests celebrated the liturgy in thanksgiving for the contributions this India-based international order has made to the local church in the nine short years it has been in Hawaii. The church on that late Thursday afternoon was full.
In his homily, Bishop Silva praised the hidden, humble service of the sisters, explaining how “little things make a huge difference.”
“Who would think that the little things they do for others” would amount to so much, but they do, he said, praising their simplicity and willingness to follow God’s call.
“Who would have thought these sisters would come halfway across the world,” the bishop said. “But they said yes to the Lord.”
“We thank God for the four wonderful sisters among us,” he said.
After Communion, Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil, Sister Lucinda Salboro, Sister Meristella Umdor and Sister Ruth Zonunthari renewed their religious vows.
The four, nearly identical in height and appearance in their crisp white habits, were adorned with layers of leis and constant smiles.
All are from India except Sister Lucinda, a local vocation from Hilo who made her first vows in 2014.
At the party afterward, downstairs in the parish hall, it was the sisters’ turn to say thank you.
“Today our heads are filled with gratitude and joy that overflows within us as we recall the various ways God has guided us through to reach these 75 years with him and his people,” Sister Ruth told the crowded room.
“The hand of God has been upon us in our joys and sorrows, in trying times and in our laughter,” she said. “And we thank him for giving us opportunities after opportunities to reach out to many, many people and see his faithful and loving hands guiding us always.”
“From the moment we landed here (in 2008), we were welcomed with tons of fresh flowers with sweet scent at Hilo airport,” Sister Ruth said. “The sweet scent of those first leis follows us everywhere.”
At the post-Mass celebration, the sister joined members of the parish’s Samoan choir in a cultural dance, sang two songs for the crowd and cut and shared a massive anniversary sheet cake.
The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians was founded by Bishop Stephen Ferrando in Guwahati, Assam, in North East India in 1942 to help address the physical, spiritual and educational needs of refugees and those displaced during World War II.
In 2008, the sisters were invited to St. Joseph Parish in Hilo by then pastor Father Thomas Purayidathil to do pastoral, educational and social ministry. In 2011 the sisters moved to St. Elizabeth parish in Aiea where they continue to engage in social ministry, religious education, pastoral work and more recently hospice care.
Today the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians have 1,183 members working in more than 50 dioceses in India, Italy, Germany, Ethiopia, Sudan, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Myanmar and Hawaii, its only U.S. mission.
