Mother Bridget Sequeira, F.M.C.K., was a Pakistani-Indian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

who founded the

Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King The Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King (F.M.C.K.) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women that originated in what is now Pakistan and founded schools, orphanages, homes for the aged and disabled and hospitals throughout the coun ...

, a missionary

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

for women, in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Pakistan, then India. It is the only Catholic religious institute for women to have been founded for women in that nation. It is currently headquartered in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, India.

Early life

Sequeira was born in

Bushehr Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, on 12 December 1905. Her parents were Joao Felipe Sequeira and Matilda de Melo from the Sonarbhatt section of

Saligao Saligão () is a census town in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is surrounded by the villages of Porvorim, Parra, Guirim, Sangolda, Pilerne, Candolim, Calangute and Nagoa and is in Bardez Taluka of Goa. It is 10 km from ...

, in the District of

North Goa North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka t ...

, then part of

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

, now part of the Republic of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.Sister Ursula, F.M.C.K. ''Foot Prints on the Sands of Time''. Lourdes Convent, Saligao, North Goa, India In 1913 she was sent to Karachi, then still part of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, where she studied at St Joseph's Convent School and passed the Senior Cambridge examination in 1921. She then joined the staff of St Joseph’s School. She later passed the Secondary Teachers' Certificate Examination and went on to a teaching job at St Joseph's Convent School in the same city.

Religious life

In 1937 she founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King in Karachi, at JM3/574 Catholic Colony No. 2. This house was given to Mother Bridget to start the F.M.C.K. by Mr. Anthony Venantius. They started growing and a convent was built in the same area, and they belong to St. Philomena's church, later named "Christ The King". The congregation has grown and spread through various parts of India, Pakistan and Sharjah. In 1939 Sequeira was also elected as a member of the Municipal Council by the people of Karachi. In 1946 Sequeira sailed to her ancestral city of Saligao, accompanied by three Sisters of her congregation, landing in Goa on 13 May. They arrived at the house in

Cotula ''Cotula'' is a genus of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It includes plants known generally as water buttons or buttonweeds. The species within this genus can vary extensively in their habit, leaf division, involucre, receptacle and ...

where her aunt, Etelvina de Melo, operated St. Mary's Girls School, which had been founded in 1900 by Joshino Sequeira as the first English school for girls in Goa. Mother Bridget then took control of the school from her aunt. With this the Franciscan Missionaries became established in India. Later the Sisters would build their own modern structure on a hill in Donvaddo in Saligao, called the Lourdes Convent High School. It was built in three stages and finally completed in 1968. After stepping down from the office of Superior General, Mother Bridget came to St. Elizabeth's Convent in Pomburpa, Goa where she joined ranks and files and moved quietly into the life of the Pomburpa Sisters. The people there were keen on meeting her. She personally visited people who were ill or lonely and brought them comfort. Food was given generously to all in need. On 1 July 1987 Mother Bridget died in Christ the King Convent – Mother House in sector of Metropolitan Karachi.

Legacy

The congregation has constructed schools, orphanages, and hospitals, as well as homes for the aged and disabled. During their 10th

General Chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...

held in 2005, the sisters decided to move the

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...

from Karachi to

Old Goa Old Goa ( Konkani: ; pt, Velha Goa, translation='Old Goa') is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. The ci ...

and to divide the administration of the congregation into two provinces: the province of

St Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...

in Pakistan and St Clare's Province in India, as well as three regions, which are expected to develop into full provinces. To date this is the only Roman Catholic

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

originating in Pakistan, actually predating the better known Missionaries of Charity founded by

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, in 1950. In 2010 there were 61 sisters in Pakistan, still working in their various institutions and ministries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sequeira, Bridget 1905 births 1987 deaths People from Bushehr Founders of Catholic religious communities Roman Catholic missionaries in India 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic nuns Female Christian missionaries Indian Roman Catholic missionaries Third Order Regular Franciscans 20th-century Pakistani Roman Catholic nuns Pakistani people of Goan descent Roman Catholic missionaries in Pakistan Franciscan missionaries St Joseph's Convent School, Karachi alumni