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On the occasion of the solemn feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sr Rose Celine BS, the Superior General of the Bethany Congregation who was on her canonical visitation of the Province, flagged off a Heritage Centre at Eudes Convent, West Hill, Calicut. This is the first community of Bethany outside the diocese of Mangalore, started by the Servant of God Raymond F C Mascarenhas, in the year 1938. Rev Fr Ouseppachan, the parish priest blessed the centre. Sr Sandhya, the General Councillor who had accompanied the Superior General graced the occasion. The community consisting of 21 sisters witnessed the event.

The singular fascination of this centre at present is a large oil painting of the portrait of St John Eudes, which earlier was part of the first chapel that was set up in the fifties during the time of Fr Founder. Having been stirred by the epoch-making event, the sisters are on the lookout for more artefacts that might be lying in every nook and corner of the house. The centre presently have rare photographs of the olden times namely, photo of the first vocations from Kerala, the Mangalorean sisters who set foot in the West Hill along with Fr Founder, and other artefacts of cultural and historical importance. Sr Rose Celine, in her speech underscored the importance of this centre for the future generation and wished well for its completion. She profusely appreciated the initiative of Sr Lillis, the Superior and the support given by the members of the community.

Among the numerous convents opened by our Fr Founder during his life time, only the Convent at West Hill bears the name of St John Eudes. The Founder seemed to have much affinity with this saint, as this saint had great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is said that the Mass Altar for the West Hill Convent was brought by Fr Founder from Mangalore on which the hearts of Jesus and Mary are carved. Drawing inspiration from St Eudes, our Founder composed the prayer on the Consecration of Bethany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which the members pray every month.

In 1938, when Fr Founder established the community at West Hill, the sisters took over the small parish school with the permission of the Bishop. Gradually, they upgraded it to an Upper Primary School, High School and currently it is a government aided Higher Secondary School having a strength of nearly 3000 students. Attached to the convent is a hostel for girls and a free boarding for the poor girls. This institution is a testimony to the vision of the Servant of God Raymond Mascarenhas for the empowerment of poor girls.

Bethany is blessed with a good number of vocations from among the teachers of this institution who became the stalwarts in shaping the Southern Province of the Congregation consisting of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

-Sr Lillis BS, Superior, St Eudes Convent, West Hill