The document celebrates the 325th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo in Belgium in 1684. It provides background information on the founder, Fr. Adrien Bresy, and the first five sisters. It then discusses the growth and expansion of the congregation over the centuries into missions in India, Argentina, Poland, Africa, Italy and Mexico.

1. CONGRATULATIONS

2. Jubilations! 325 Years! Merci Beacoup Mon Dieu!!!

3. Jubilee of the Foundation of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo

5. BELGIUM IN THE 17 TH CENTURY

6. BELGIAN WOMEN AT THE TIME OF THE FOUNDATION

7. “ Reading, writing and arithmetic” is a famous phrase used to describe the popular education of ancient times, and that was precisely followed in the schools of Christian Doctrine. This explains St. Charles’ great zeal for the spreading of the Christian Doctrine schools. EDUCATION OF CHILDREN ORPHANED AS A RESULT OF WAR

8. EDUCATION OF WOMEN OF HIGH STATUS Importance was given for the education of the elite, the families of nobles and higher rungs of society The poor were left to languish in their ignorance and poverty both material, intellectual and spiritual

9. THE ORIGIN OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO Fr. Adrien Bresy assembled five young ladies in his presbytery on September 27, 1684: Marie Catherine Warquain Elizabeth Lepe Marie Ann Lepez Marguerite Delrue Marie Barbe Delrue

10. Founder - Rev. Fr. Adrien Bresy Foundation in 1684 At Wez-Velvain, Belgium First sisters vested and professed by Fr. Adrien Bresy on November 25, 1685 Extract from the Vestition Register signed by Fr. Adrien Bresy and Mother Marie Catherine Warquain

11. VESTITION - PROFESSION Past Present

12. The Founder and the First Sisters placed themselves under the protection of St. Charles Borromeo PATRON OF THE CONGREGATION The Church was celebrating with great pomp the centenary of the death of St. Charles Borromeo in 1684. He was : An Ardent Apostle A Reformer An Educator A Saint

13. Charles was born in the castle of Arona in Lago Maggiore in the very North of Italy, on October 2, 1538. He was born to Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret de Medici, whose younger brother Angelo later became Pope Pius IV. He took his doctorate in law in the University of Pavia when he was twenty-two, and was soon afterwards appointed Cardinal,Deacon and Administrator of the See of Milan. At twenty-four, he assisted ably in the Council of Trent and the publishing of the Tridentine Catechism. He was ordained a priest in September 1563 and three months later, when he was only twenty-five years old, consecrated Archbishop of Milan. He died on November 4, 1584. He was canonized in 1610 and is the Patron Saint of Lombardy and Catechists. OUR PATRON ST. CHARLES BORROMEO

15. SISTERS OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO CALLED TO INCARNATE THE COMPASSIONATE LOVE OF GOD

16. 17 TH CENTURY CASTLE IN BELGIUM There are more castles per square mile in Belgium than anywhere else in the world. Beautiful castles to experience, formal gardens to get lost in, peaceful abbeys and historic battlefields. Across the river, off busy Rue de Pont, is Rue Barre St. Brice. On this narrow street stand two romanesque houses from the 12th century. The two, numbers 12 and 14, are possibly the oldest private houses in Europe.

19. Fr. Adrien Bresy, the Founder, shifted his residence to this castle. The seminarians were lodged in this castle while the seminary of Tournai was being constructed. RUINS OF THE CASTLE OF WEZ

21. A QUIET AND HOLY PRESENCE We know very little of Fr. Adrien Bresy, our Founder, he is one of those who has made a deep and lasting impression in the early days of the foundation at Wez, Belgium. We have a just and holy man who did not even give his name to the Congregation he founded. He did not leave a written charter of principles, a rule of life for the Sisters to follow, but laying aside the desire for glory and honour in the spirit of St. John the Baptist who said “ He must increase, I must decrease.” The greatest fact of his life was a life offered totally to God and His people. We who are hungry for details about the lives of holy persons are again reminded that their holiness was after all, a total response to Christ, expressed in action. Compassion for poor, the lowly, the abandoned, the children and widows . The name of Fr. Adrien Bresy is inscribed on it

22. THE TOMBSTONE OF FR. ADRIEN BRESY IS LAID IN THE REAR WALL OF THIS CHURCH

23. TOMBSTONE OF FR. ADRIEN BRESY LAID IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF WEZ.

24. YOUNG SISTERS OF ST. CHARLES FROM POLAND PAYING HOMAGE TO FR. ADRIEN BRESY

25. A VIEW OF THE MONASTERY/CONVENT OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO, WEZ

26. A VIEW OF THE CONVENT FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES.

27. St. Charles Convent Chapel at the Mother House View of the steeple

28. A PEEP INTO THE PAST A VIEW OF THE PRESENT St. Charles Convent Chapel, Wez

29. THE MONASTERY AS IT WAS KNOWN AND THE STEEPLE IN THE REAR

30. TRANSITION – MONASTERY CHAPEL TO SIMPLE CHAPEL

31. MAIN ENTRANCE OF ST. CHARLES CONVENT WEZ.

32. ST.CHARLES PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE

34. BELGIUM WAS LIBERATED AS A SEPARATE STATE IN 1830, UNDER THE RED, YELLOW AND BLACK TRICOLOUR

35. ST.CHARLES BOARDING SCHOOL, WEZ

36. Mother Alphonse Decoster is awarded the CROSS OF HONOUR BY the Government for her long and devoted services as directress of the Psychaiatric Institute. June 2, 1893 GOLDEN JUBILEE OF MOTHER ALPHONSE DECOSTER

37. GET-TOGETHER OF FRIENDS OF ST. CHARLES

38. ST. CHARLES CONVENT PERUWELZ 1861

39. PERUWELZ MUSIC CLASS AND SISTERS

40. A GLIMPSE OF ST. CHARLES FOYER, WEZ OLD & RECENT PHOTO

41. NOTRE DAME DES PRODIGES OUR LADY OF WONDERS A very ancient statue was erected on a stone pedestal in the quandrangle of the community between the two windows of the bishop’s room. On Saturday, October 19, 1918 a bomb from an over flying warplane, broke the stone pedestal. The protecting dome above the head of the statue was thrown off, the zinc plaque beneath was pulled off.

42. The explosion caused a terrible shock that shattered the window panes of the surrounding rooms, and to think that the statue was not even touched and no casualties of human life! THAT IS INDEED NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE! There she was standing intact, victorious, and triumphant on the broken pedestal. The Sisters gathered the pieces of bombshell and carried them carefully to the feet of the statue. As soon as circumstances permitted it the Sisters constructed a pedestal in honour of Our Lady of Wonders and there she stands to this day a vivid proof of her maternal presence and protection. The bits of the murderous bomb are embedded in the wall at the side of the statue. THE MIRACLE

43. Our Crest It was in 1924, 240 years after the foundation that, for the first time, the Sisters of St. Charles paid special honour to the armorial bearing of the Congregation. As seen on the front cover, on the lower part is a golden bee-hive flanked by two busy bees of the same hue. On the upper part surmounted by the Cross are initials of St. Charles Borromeo through which runs a golden cord. Around the eschutcheon runs a garland of spotless lilies And humble violets upon which we find the motto of the Congregation.

44. Dear cost-of-arms, with joy supreme I gaze upon each radiant beam That darting forth, recalls to me Our high ideal: True Sanctity. In sixteen eighty four, blest year, Our Mother House was founded, dear; St. Charles Borromeo, acclaimed By all the Church, was Patron named. As trusting children, let us turn To our loved Saint, and gladly learn To imitate his piety, His fervour great, and charity. Upon the crest, the cord entwined Around his initials, remind, That senses mortified, will lead To future holiness indeed, The Shield has symbols fair to see: Sweet violets full of modesty And lilies, in the summer light, Of purity, and emblem bright. The hive depicted, in its cells Has busy bees, whose labour tells That as their plunder, honey yields, Our love and zeal should reach far fields. Our souls should generous be found To help and brighten lives around, Forgetting self, with sweet accord, As virgin-wax burns for the Lord. O blest and holy Cross inspire In us a pure and firm desire To work for Christ, and fight all sin. A glorious crown in Heaven to win. And may we keep this motto true In mind, whatever we say and do; Faith, Toil and Progress, here below, Then endless bliss above, we know. Faith, Toil, Progress

45. Mother Josephine Allard Foundress of the Mission in India Pioneers of Indian Mission

46. FIRST FIVE INDIAN SISTERS AT THE MOTHER HOUSE

47. THE JOY OF COMMUNITY LIFE

48. SISTERS PLAYING WITH SNOWBALLS – INDIAN SISTERS PERFORMING A PRAYER DANCE.

49. MEMORIAL OF THE TRI-CENTENARY ST. CHARLES CONVENT ANTOING 1986

50. The old Arcades of Wez Indian Independence Day Celebration

51. CORRIDOR TO THE RESIDENCE OF THE SISTERS

52. POLISH SISTERS’ VISIT TO THE MOTHER HOUSE, IN FRONT OF THE STATUE OF OUR LADY OF WONDERS AND IN THE CHAPEL CONSTRUCTED IN 1850

53. SOEUR ELIANE WITH THE SISTERS DURING THEIR VISIT

54. SUPERIOR GENERAL AT WEZ REV. MOTHER BENEDICTA - APRIL 2007 COMMUNITY REFECTORY

55. PRAYER SERVICE – HANDING OF THE REVISED CONSTITUTION 2007

59. SISTERS OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO BELGIUM Wez Peruwelz Antoing ARGENTINA El Colorado Tacanitas Campo Gallo Rio Cuarto San Francisco Buenos Aires POLAND Andrzejow Czestochowa Chojny Dabrowa Warszawa Niepolomice AFRICA Iringa Dar es Salam Kibao Mbeya Khonda ITALY Meina Crusinallo Borgo Ticino MEXICO Ticul

63. Thank You

64. INPUTS Source – Ever Ancient Yet Ever New by Sr. Benedicta Lobo Script by Sr. Sheila Corda Directed by Fr. Joaquim Fernandes sdb, Director, Tej-Prasarini Designed by Tej-Prasarini, Don Bosco Communications, Matunga, Mumbai. Sr. Sheila and Sr. Sheeja Supported by General Administration Encouraged by Provincial Superiors of India Initiated by COSAF - India Jubilee 325 Years!