Congregation of the Rosarians

THE CONGREGATION OF THE ROSARIANS

(The First Asian Contemplative Congregation).

The Congregation of the Rosarians is an Indigenous Contemplative Religious Congregation. It was started in response to a call of Pope Pius XI, known as the Pope of the Missions. In 1926 he issued an encyclical called ‘Rerum Ecclesiae’ in which he exhorted the Bishops in Mission lands to promote indigenous forms of Contemplative religious life in their dioceses as an efficacious means of advancing the faith.

     There lived at that time in Jaffna, Sri Lanka a young holy priest, Fr. B.A. Thomas OMI, who since the time of his ordination had been nurturing the idea of monasticism as an indispensable element for the well being and growth of the Church at large and in particular the Asian countries especially in India and Sri Lanka. The Bishop of Jaffna who knew well Fr. Thomas and his cherished idea asked him to execute the Holy Father’s wish in his diocese. Subsequently on 2 February 1928, Fr. Thomas started the Rosarian Congregation at Tholagatty, in the Diocese of Jaffna.

     It was a journey in the dark relying on guidance and inspiration from above. The maternal guidance and protection of our Blessed Mother was felt from the beginning of the foundation. Fr. Thomas derived inspiration especially from the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes and Fatima.

     Humility and simplicity are the hallmarks of the Rosarian life. The humble, hidden, laborious, contemplative life of the Holy Family of Nazareth is their model. Their daily life of habitual prayer is centred on the Holy Eucharist and is lived in close union with our Blessed Mother. Silence, frugality and manual labour form part of their penitential life.

    Father Thomas had a special devotion to Our Lady. He introduced, a 24 hours perpetual Rosary as a means for contemplation. He had profound faith, love and adoration toward the Eucharist and began the perpetual adoration. The last Encyclical and the Apostolic Letter of the Holy Father John Paul II, on the Eucharist and on the Most Holy Rosary (Ecclesia de Eucharistia and Rosarium Virginis Mariae) also have encouraged their dedicated life centred on the Eucharist and on Marian Contemplation.

    Their aim is to support all apostolic works of the Church by prayer and sacrifice. Although they do not engage in direct external apostolate outside the monastery precincts, they welcome all especially the poor and suffering who come to them for spiritual and material help. The Rosarian Congregation has at present thirteen Monasteries in India and five Monasteries in Sri Lanka one monastery in Canada having their Mother house in Tholagatty, Vasavilan been fully destroyed by the ethnic war. The Congregation is headed by Prior General together with Regional Superiors and local Superiors. The present Prior General is Most Rev. Fr. A. M. Stephen CR and Sri Lankan Regional Superior is Very Rev. Fr. P. Don Bosco CR. The Congregation was raised to the Pontifical Status in 2002 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. The Rosarians are growing every year with new members and priests. In 1950, a contemplative congregation for women too was started by Father Thomas, within a decade, the sisters also spread out into many dioceses in India and Sri Lanka.

     The image of Father Thomas was that of a Rishi (Holy Monk). He was indeed a man of God and a Sanyasi (Sage) to the core, a living saint. He came to be acclaimed as a very holy man, a guru, as a healer, a consoler, a comforter and even a miracle-worker by the faithful of Jaffna peninsula and beyond. He entered into the eternal rest on 26 January 1964, when he was seventy-eight years old. Still the people in local and the Rosarians consider Father Thomas as saint and receive favours through his intercession. The process for the cause of beatification of Father Thomas had been started in 1978 by the Oblates but because of the civil war it was disrupted.  In the year 2000 Rosarians took up the cause and restarted it.  The Congregation for Causes of Saints in Rome gave the ‘Nihil Obstat’ on 11 March 2006. Rev. Fr. P. Don Bosco CR is the present postulator for Diocesan phase from the Congregation of the Rosarians.