As the pilot at the helm in the centenary year, her name "God's Gift" rightly means so to our Congregation and to the church. Very few women in the world can compare with Mother Theodosia. She was called upon to lead the Apostolic Carmel as the sixth Superior General in 1959, at a time when the Church was preparing for great changes. The Holy Spirit surely waited for her to take up this responsibility as He was preparing the Church for tremendous changes and Mother Theodosia had a great role to play in contributing to the same.
Born on 23rd November, 1899 in Mangalore, Karnataka, the only girl among 7 brothers, she had a unique childhood. After her early education in Mangalore, she studied in Sacred Heart Convent School, Tellicherry, Kerala. She passed her SSLC with special honours, securing 105% moderation marks in English. Her graduation at Queen Mary's College, Madras, made her the first woman graduate of Mangalore. What is rare is that she was awarded the Pentland prize for English. She joined the Apostolic Carmel in 1923. After her First Profession in 1925, she taught in St. Agnes College Mangalore, did her post-graduation and from that time onwards was entrusted with ever increasing responsibilities. She was sent to North India where hardly any women religious had ventured to work in the field of education in Bihar; especially higher education for women. She saw to the construction of the college building, which today is the well-known Patna Women's College. She was called the “Cornerstone” of the institution for she gave her entire and undivided attention to putting the infant college on its feet, tending it through its growing years and bringing it to a position of stability. It was her deep faith in God that helped her to get the finances for the same. During her years in Patna, she was elected member of the Bihar Council of Women. She was also a member of the Board of English studies, was nominated a member of the Syndicate making her the first woman to become a member of the University Syndicate. She was also responsible for the convents and schools in Patna, Jamshedpur, New Delhi, Bokaro, Bhagalpur, Kanpur and Hazaribagh.
When Mother Theodosia was elected the Superior General, the Apostolic Carmel had already established itself as a congregation and had reached out to people in different parts of the country.
Her election as Superior General was hailed by both religious and lay folk alike. Her tenure of office was from 1959 to 1972, for 2 terms in succession. This extended during a turbulent period of history in India and Sri Lanka. Free India had just been reorganized into states on a linguistic basis. This would soon have an effect on the general outlook on life of the people in the various states of India.
Her words are deeply inspiring – “Education is a great apostolate, Sisters. In this period of the World’s history, women as wives and mothers hold the destinies of the nations in their hands – we want good Christian Mothers”.
Many sisters were sent to distant lands for studies – United States, Rome, Belgium and Canada. Mother Theodosia firmly believed that the best foundation for a deep spiritual renewal for sisters was the study of Theology.
Providence provided a boon to our Congregation when, in September1965, she was invited to assist at the General Congregation of the Fourth Session of the Vatican Council as Auditress to Vatican II. She was the only head of religious congregation of nuns in India to receive such an invitation.
She was also a member of the Council of the International Union of Women Superiors General as well as a Consultor of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Her experience in Rome at that time enabled her to grasp the new thinking among the sisters.
Such was her zeal at every turn, that one could truly say that the Superior General and her Council did their best to make the “Aggiornamenta” (Renewal) a reality, treading cautiously all the while so that the best traditions of our Carmelite way of life continued to be upheld. That the Church in India appreciated Mother Theodosia greatly may be seen in several ways. Not only did Bishops urge her to open educational institutions, on virgin soil in their dioceses, but the Internuncio, Mgr. J. R. Knox, requested her to form a national body of women religious, and so the CRWI came into existence. She was the President of the CRI (Women's Section) from 1963 to 1972.
In course of time, every diocese in India had its own CRI unit which made it possible for co-operation among various religious congregations and a feeling of solidarity within the Church.
Mother Theodosia had a clear idea about our role in the church and in the world. Religious bodies were an integral part of the Church and it was necessary on the part of the religious to cooperate closely with the Church and place its needs even above the needs of a religious congregation. She felt that having an essential role to play in the building up of the Church, they should render every possible aid towards pushing forward the interests of the church, adopting a new line of thinking to adapt themselves to the needs of the church in the modern world. For this, it was essential to train sisters to guide the younger ones information. At this time, she was fortunate to come in contact with Mother Josetta of the Sisters of Mercy, USA, who was planning an Overseas Educational programme for religious sisters from India in formation cum academic courses. She came to India and along with Mother Theodosia, planned the overseas education programme, in which the sisters would study courses in Theology and Scripture along with academic studies. The first two sisters sent for this programme were sisters Marie Margaret and Lucetta.
In the meantime, in India, there was a community-wide demand from religious congregations asking for facilities to secure formation courses for young sisters. At the C.R.I. Executive meeting in Poona, the Internuncio requested the Apostolic Carmel to lend two sisters to be trained to plan a National Formation House and also to run it. In the interests of the Church in India, Sr. Theodosia was urged to comply with this request, no matter what sacrifices she would have to make. Sisters Yolande and Fidelia were chosen for this significant mission, and thanks to the great kindness and generosity of Mother Josetta, they were welcomed with great kindness and generosity and she herself planned their studies and itinerary in USA in order to train and equip them for their future work. She even financed their expenses of board and travelling while they were in USA. On their return, their services were requisitioned by the CRI Women’s section, and preparations were made to open Mater Dei as a formation house for women religious for the whole of India. Sr. Yolande was the first Principal and Sr. Fidelia the Vice-Principal, while sisters from other congregations were appointed to fill the posts of the Superior and her team.
Thus, on 5th June 1964, Institute Mater Dei was established in Old Goa, to enable the young members of different congregations to be formed according to the new thinking prevailing in the Church.
Much of what she achieved was due, no doubt to the charm of her personality, her indomitable courage, her indefatigable zeal and her hard work. However, she attributed her success to prayers and to the Providence of God, working through persons and circumstances.
In her organizing ability, her leadership, and her faith in God, as she served the Church for some decades, Mother Theodosia may be likened to St. Teresa of Avila. While holding up this model and teacher of prayer to the sisters, she followed in her footsteps in not refusing to open convents and schools when called upon by the Church authorities or the public to do so. It was during her tenure that, for better administration, the Congregation was divided into regions and later pro-Provinces, which eventually paved the way for the Provinces of the Congregation.
The country recognized her singular services to the people. The 'Award of Honour for outstanding persons in South Kanara and the Kaiser-i-Hind silver medal was awarded in 1946. The Padma Shree award was bestowed on her by the President of India, Dr. V.V. Giri in 1971.and finally in 1990 the Women's Association of Patna honoured her, 'the grand old religious woman of India', with a citation and token gift, to express their lasting gratitude to her.
A unique event during her second term as Superior General was the celebration of the A.C. Centenary in November 1970. There were also problems she faced along with the communities and educational institutions in Sri Lanka during her tenure as Superior General Marxist and pro Buddhist policies of the Sri Lankan politicians proved detrimental to Christianity, and all our schools were taken over by the Government. She stood by the sisters in Sri Lanka during the disturbances and was a strong pillar of support to them. Their gratitude to her is still fresh even after many years. During her second term the auxiliary sisters were formally amalgamated into the Institute on 16 July 1966. Mother Theodosia was responsible for the setting up of communities in Northeast India, The Andamans, Carmel College Goa, the starting of work in Kuwait and 2 convents in Australia. She saw that there was need for other forms of education, so a Technical Education Centre and a School for the differently abled were started in Mangalore.
After her term of office as Superior General she returned to Avila Convent, Patna, as a member of the community. She spent her days in prayer and was a source of edification to the members of the community as well as to the hundreds of people, she was associated with during the days, she was principal of the college. She grew old gracefully. Being a person of prayer, she used to spend much time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Her life of 96 grace filled years came to an end on 17 November 1995. She led the Apostolic Carmel to great heights and her clarion call as always, was EXCELSIOR! “With her death an era has ended”, said Bishop Benedict Osta SJ. at the funeral Mass.
Her words continue to echo down memory lane, inspiring the present and future generations - “No risk is too great for God’s glory.”