Ayeyar Alinn- Good morning, Sister.

Please introduce your name to the followers of Ayeyar Alinn Journal online.

Nun-Good morning, Ayeyar Alinn. I am Rose Philip Nan Nwe Pyone, a Catholic nun from the Congregation of the Sister of St. Francis Xavier. I am serving as a First Counsellor of the Mother Superior.

Ayeyar Alinn-  I know that there will be the 125^th birthday celebration of the foundation of your Congregation. When was your Congregation founded? Could you please tell us about the brief history of your community too?

Nun- Our Congregation was established in the City of Pathein by Bishop Alexander Cardo, a French, on August 26, 1897.

To tell a brief history of our Congregation, our founder Father was ordained priest at the age of 22 in 1879 in the Foreign Missionary Congregation of Paris (MEP) and sent to Myanmar (Formerly Burma). In 1882, he was appointed as a priest of St. Patrick’s parish in Mawlaymyaing Town.  After serving as a parish priest for 12 years, he was elected Bishop in charge of the Southern part of the country.

When he became a Bishop, he settled in Yangon (Formerly Rangoon) and administered both Yangon and Mawlamyaung parishes. On a pastoral tour, he went to the area of Pathein. There he saw no State school except one religious school for many villages. Bishop Cardo was very sorry and not satisfied with it. Throughout the years when he stayed in Pathein, he did developments in various sectors for local people for their education and faith. Later, he learned that discrimination of class should be eliminated. Then, he came to know that it was necessary to educate and preach with love and humility in doing missions.

Moreover, local priests and nuns were required in educating and promoting the local people who were residing especially in his territory located in the southern area of Myanmar. Only local people could educate indigenous people in their vernacular languages. For that reason, the Bishop was aware of the important need to establish a local Congregation at that time.  There were linguistic difficulties for foreign missionaries too. It was very hard for them to travel to remote areas. That is why the prelate asked for help from the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Congregation. St. Joseph’s Sisters arrived ahead of us fifty years in Myanmar. With the help of St. Joseph’s Sisters, Bishop Cardo could officially found the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis Xavier on August 26, 1897. Our community started with four Aspirants and came into existence. 

Ayeyar Alinn- What are the Charism and motto of your Congregation?

Nun- Our Charism is “Being poor in spirit and serving the most needy, and “One with the Church” as our motto.

Ayeyar Alinn- May I know the mission of your community, please.

Nun- Talking about our mission, as the Charism goes “Being poor in spirit and serving the most needy”, we have many apostolic works. We taught the catechism of the Church to Catholics including children to worthily receive Sacraments and opened nursery schools and boarding houses for girls for their good morality. We have private dispensaries too to heal the poor people who are sick and suffering and bring them to clinics and hospitals. We look after the elderly and disabled who are abandoned. In evangelization, through shortwave and online we worked with Radio Veritas Asia which is the Catholic Media Organization of the Asian Church. We make touring for the apostolate. Our members are serving the Church under the guidance of the local Ordinaries in the respective mission fields.

Ayeyar Alinn- What is the population of the Congregation? Where are they doing missions both national and international?

Nun- We have 452 members with sixty Juniors. We are doing missions in thirteen Arch/dioceses out of sixteen in Myanmar. As foreign missionaries, our members are working in Florida in USA, Italy, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Ayeyar Alinn- If there are girls who are interested to be a nun in your Congregation, what are the requirements?

Nun- If there are girls who are interested to be nuns in our Congregation, at least they should have a religious and spiritual mind. To be able to serve the Church and the Congregation, they need to be healthy in both mind and body. At the educational level, she must graduate from university. But there is the exception that those who have experienced matriculation examinations are considered if she is willing to become a nun. Age must be under 30.

Ayeyar Alinn- What are you preparing and how are you going to celebrate the 125^th foundation anniversary of the Congregation?

Nun- This year 2022 is the full completion of the foundation day and Jubilee of our Congregation. It is also a birthday. For this reason, we want to celebrate it as a thanksgiving mass with our members in unity in Pathein at the national level but we cannot gather, meet and do it due to the current political situation in the country. That is why we planned to hold it in three different regions.

Last February 2 this year we celebrated Jubilee with some members in the Pathein zone. Moreover, our members who work in the Yangon zone held a thanksgiving mass in Mawbi town on February 28 as a short celebration.

Those Sisters who are working in the Myitkyina zone are going to celebrate the thanksgiving mass for Jubilee on 26 this month. In Pathein we are going to have a thanksgiving mass at the Pre-postulant chapel for the 125^th foundation anniversary with members in both the formation stage and Pathein zone, some guests, priests, and Brothers who are invited tomorrow August 26. In addition, as the memorial of the 125^th Jubilee celebration, we will have a singing competition with the congregational song composed by Father Isidore. There are seven groups formed with nuns, Aspirant, Pre-postulant, postulant and novices for competition. The competition intends to let candidates for our new generation in the formation house know more about our Congregation, how to survive as a Xaverian Sister in the community and serve, and to be good nuns.

Ayeyar Alinn- What else do you want to add? If you want, you can do it.

Nun- To add, when I, as a Xaverian member, look back and observe the 125 years of the Congregation, whatever happened, God was present. I was surely aware that the situation of the Congregation was not free from God’s hands. Therefore, I praise and thank God very much for His graces. I remember our founder Bishop Alexander Cardo for his selfless service to our Congregation despite various difficulties and thank him.

Today our community has become a good big tree full of fruits and flowers and good shade for the needy people as our father and founder willed. Seeing it, our father is being happy in heaven I believe. Furthermore, in my memory, it comes to those St. Joseph’s Sisters who took care of our Congregation for fifty years. These Sisters of St. Joseph nurtured the young St. Francis Xavier’s young daughters who started walking until they reached the age of the adult. With great patience and love, they faced many hardships. After giving all necessary things and guidance when we are of age, they departed from us. For this reason, I remember all their gratitude today, and I want to say thanks to all of St. Joseph’s Sisters and the members of their Congregation.

In addition, I give special thanks to all Arch/bishops who invite us with full trust to serve in their Arch/dioceses, and to those priests who collaborate with us in doing the mission. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend my thanks to all those who supported us in various ways, and loved and encouraged our Community through finance, and prayers.

Finally, I thank Ayeyar Alinn Journal for bringing the story of our Congregation to its followers online by interviewing me on the special occasion of the 125^th Foundation Anniversary of our community.

By Raymond Mahn Kyaw

August 23, 2022