VINAYALAYA, MALLESWARAM

Vinayalaya is the Theology study house of the Province in Karnataka.  The scholastics belonging to all the five Indian Provinces and some other religious congregations reside here and do their theological studies in St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute in Malleswaram.

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPIRITUALITY, RAJAJINAGAR

Indian Institute of Spirituality in Rajajinagar is a centre of great quality and name offering courses in spirituality.  The centre was the brainchild of its founder and first director Fr. Antony Kolencherry.  It is affiliated to St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute and recognized by Bangalore University. For more information on the centre kindly log on to its website: http://education.vsnl.com/iisp   Fransalian Media Centre attached to the Indian Institute of Spirituality is the media and communications wing of the Province.  All the SFS Publications, Indian Journal of Spirituality and Fransalian International take shape here.

SUDHIRVANA, CARMELARAM

This is basically an agricultural land.  But it was also a centre for various apostolates like counselling, orientation programme for the new recruits in the seminary etc. in the province in the past.

PSI SEVAGRAM, KENGERI 

PSI Sevagram in Kengeri is a subsidiary of the Pastoral Sociology Institute in Malur.  The centre has a health care centre attached to it.

OUR LADY VAILANKANNI CHURCH, YELAHANKA NEW TOWN 

Our Lady of Vailankanni Church in Yelahanka New Town is taken up by the MSFS on a temporary contract with the Archdiocese of Bangalore.

HOLY ROSARY CHURCH, VENKATALA 

The Holy Rosary Church in Venkatala too is taken up by MSFS on a temporary contract with the archdiocese of Bangalore.

MERMIER NAGAR, HEBBAGODI - ELECTRONICS CITY

The Community at Mermier Farm that came into existence in 1969 is the first community and foundation of the Congregation in Karnataka and in Bangalore in particular. This foundation grew into many forms and today there exists no Mermier Farm but Mermier Nagar with multiple ministries of Formation, education and pastoral care.  There are two major communities – Mermier Bhavan Community and the Inter Province Formation Community, Suvidya College, in Mermier Nagar.   For the province of South West in Karnataka, Mermier Nagar with all the ministries of the Mermier Bhavan Community is the mother of all communities. It has its own pre-eminence in the life of the province on account of its historical beginning as well as the future possibilities of multifarious ministries it holds out.  

SUVIDYA COLLEGE

Suvidya College, situated at Electronics City, Bangalore, is the Inter-Province Philosophate of the Congregation.  It has students from all the five Indian Provinces, the East African Province and a number of other congregations.  Suvidya College has established itself as a renowned Institute of Philosophy in India.  It has its own administrative system.  For more information on the institute you may log on to its website: www.suvidya.org

MERMIER BHAVAN

Mermier Farm Community in Hebbagodi, Bangalore, which later on was named Mermier Bhavan is the first community of the Congregation in Karnataka.  It is a community with multiple ministries namely Parish, Schools, colleges, Boys’ home etc. The new house of Mermier Bhavan was blessed on 15 September 2002 by His Eminence Cardinal Simon Pimenta and opened for use by Fr. James Manjackal, the senior most member of the community as per the tradition of our country.  Mermier Bhavan is the home for all the missionaries of Saint Francis De Sales. Its very name would warrant it as a house for all the children of Mermier, our Founder. This is the first community in the Congregation named after our Founder. It is a pioneer centre for all the missionary activities of the province in Karnataka. This house is well constructed with sufficient number of rooms for all the confreres, disregarding province affiliations, to stay and relax. It is a house with multiple ministries by the resident confreres here.  It is a house for the missionaries and it could be a house for the senior missionaries in future.

TWO PARISHES BUT ONE CHURCH

The universal Church is a communion of many individual/particular churches. Each particular church represents a particular religious tradition wherein Gospel took roots and grew into a community. These particular churches are also commonly known as rites. In India we have Latin rite, Syro Malabar rite and  Syro Malankara rite (churches).  In India the major geographical area is assigned to Latin rite. Vatican II has visualized the beautiful concept of Universal Church as Communion of Particular Churches and so encourages and promotes the growth of these churches as they promote the diversity and riches of Gospel life in various cultures and people. Accordingly efforts are made in the Catholic Church in India to establish Syro Malabar and Syro Malankara parishes outside Kerala where the members of these churches reside. It is to help them in their sacramental life and pastoral formation according to their church of origin. It is in response to this ecclesial openness that the archbishop erected a Syro Malabar Parish Community in the area permanently entrusted to us by the archbishop.  Thus we have two parishes but one church in Hebbagodi.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES PARISH (Latin Rite)

St. Francis De Sales parish (Latin Rite) in Hebbagodi is a multi-lingual community and therefore services are conducted in various languages.

OUR LADY OF SORROWS PARISH (Syro-Malabar Rite)

As a missionary congregation we remain continuously open to the promptings of the Spirit and needs of the people with regard to our missionary commitment. The universality of the mission entrusted to the congregation enables us to serve the people of different cultures, languages and rites. In this regard the province took a new step with regard to the pastoral service of the Syro Malabar Catholics within the boundaries of Hebbagodi-Singasandra parishes entrusted to us by the archdiocese of Bangalore.  Recognizing the bi-ritual nature of the people in and around Hebbagodi-Singasandra parish limits of the Latin rite parish His Grace Ignatius Pinto, former Archbishop of Bangalore erected a Syro Malabar Parish within these limits on 15^th September 2002 and made St. Francis De Sales Church bi-ritual.  The Syro-Malabar rite parish is dedicated to the Mother of Sorrows.  The declaration of the erection of the new parish was done in a solemn Eucharistic Celebration officiated by His Eminence Cardinal Simon Pimenta of Bombay in SFS Church, Hebbagodi.  Archbishop Ignatius Pinto delivered the homily and declared the new parish erected.   His Eminence recalled his personal association with the Fransalians in Bombay and commended the works of the congregation in his archdiocese. He exhorted every one to remain sensitive to the greater truth that there is ONE Church, though there are different rites and exhorted us to promote unity in diversity.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES SCHOOL (ENGLISH)

The St. Francis De Sales English Medium School was established in 1982.  The school provides quality education to the children of the locality.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES SCHOOL (KANNADA)

The Kannada medium school in the same campus provides opportunities for education to poor children of the area.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES PUBLIC SCHOOL (ICSE)

Taking into consideration the growing needs of Education and understanding rightly the pulse of an urbanized community of people around us with regard to education of their children and the decline in the choice of SSLC scheme especially by educated parents we have initiated ICSE programme in Mermier Nagar campus.  The St. Francis De Sales Public School (ICSE) was established in 2004.  The school provides facilities for those children who wish to follow the ICSE syllabus.  A new block for this purpose was blessed and inaugurated on 29^th May 2005.  Today people are very choosy about education and hence the need to address this need in our ministry of Education. 

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES P.U. COLLEGE

We have started the Pre University Course at Mermier Nagar, Hebbagodi. It is a sign of growth in our ministry of Education and an expression of our commitment to Higher Education. SFS School in Hebbagodi is the premier institution in the ministry of Education in our province. The PUC programme is to ensure that this reaches its possible heights of higher education in the same campus.  It was established in June 2004 with the purpose of providing higher education to the children of the locality.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES DEGREE COLLEGE

It has been in the planning of the ministry of education in the Province that we must initiate Higher Education. We have many schools in the province but it is also important that we mature in the ministry of Education through centres of Higher learning. The decision to start the Degree College was a unanimous decision of the Provincial Council taking into consideration various factors such as the need of the place, the importance of having a Degree College for higher learning in the province for the formation of the members, a centre of higher education for the catholic students from the various villages we are working in etc.  A College dedicated to our Patron Saint Francis De Sales, the patron of journalists and writers, is to be seen as a growth in our ministry of Education in the Province. This College bears within itself immense possibilities for our various missions all over the country irrespective of Provinces to send the students for higher education in Bangalore.  It was established in August 2004, with the aim of offering professional and job-oriented courses to the students.

SFS BOYS’ HOME

SFS Boys’ Home in Hebbagodi is a haven for the hapless and orphan children.  There are about fifty children and they are given free education in our schools in Hebbagodi.

SOUTH INDIAN BANK – SFS COLLEGE EXTENSION COUNTER

A new extension Counter of South Indian Bank has been opened in our campus at Mermier Nagar.   It was blessed on 30 September 2004, on the Feast of our Founder, Servant of God, Peter Mermier.  It was inaugurated on 11 October 2004 and it is called “SFS College Extension Counter”.   It would be raised into a branch after three years.