ABOUT

The Apostolic Carmel Congregation was founded by Mother Mary Veronica of the Passion née Sophie Leeves, a Protestant convert to Catholicism, on 16 July 1868, in Bayonne, France. Sophie was born at Constantinople on 1 October 1823, in a pious, cultured, English Anglican family. Her father, Henry Daniel Leeves, was an Anglican Chaplain to the British ambassador at Constantinople. Her mother, Marina Haultain, was the daughter of a colonel in the British army and many of her relatives were soldiers and marines. Thus Sophie inherited from her parents an indomitable courage, love for the poor, fiery ardour, perseverance in the face of difficulties, and above all deep faith in God and love for the Scriptures. She was also gifted with singular talents of mind and heart, which were nurtured by sound education and wide experience.Under divine inspiration, young Sophie broke off her engagement to a marine officer Mr. Kenneth whom she loved much, that she “might be free to belong only to God.” Though her original desire was to become an Anglican religious and devote herself to prayer and works of charity, God was leading her elsewhere.An avid reader, a deep thinker and ardent seeker of truth, Sophie from her early years, felt an attraction for some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Her reading of the New Testament in Greek, convinced her of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. God offered her the gift of faith at the age of 27, which she accepted without counting the cost. On 2 February 1850, she was baptized by Father Seagrave, S.J., at the Church of Gésu in Malta, in spite of the rejection she anticipated from her dear ones beginning with her own Mother, as also the Protestant Society.A life of no ordinary prayer and sacrifice culminated in her generous response to the call to religious life. She entered the Congregation of St. Joseph of the Apparition at Syros, made her religious Profession on 14 September 1851 and took the name of Sister Mary Veronica of the Passion. Her early years as a religious were marked with mystical graces and deep experiences in prayer which strengthened her already profound faith.As a Sister of St. Joseph, Sister Veronica was assigned to teaching, first at Syros, and then at the free school in Athens, where she looked after the poor with great love. It was here that she discovered her special vocation with the sick, the rich and the poor alike, to whom she devoted herself day and night, in spite of her own weak health. “On several occasions”, she says, “the good God gave me the grace to be able to make some sick people receive the Sacraments who would have died deprived of the help of religion…” Later, she was sent as superior to found a house and an orphanage at Piraeus, in Greece and then transferred to Tremorel, a small village in Brittany, France, where besides being in charge of the Convent and the school, she served as a nurse to the whole village and the neighbourhood, there being no doctors within the radius of several miles.

COLLEGE IMAGES

FACILITIES

Social Apostolate,Family Apostolate,Parish Apostolate,Coaching

towards Excellence,Service Learning,Empowerment of Women

Health Programme,Prison Ministry,Hostels and boarding hostels

Children’s home,Care of the elderly.

COMBINATION

Arts,Commerce, Science.

Website link

https://www.ackarnatakaprovince.org/