CFIC In India
All the great events have a humble beginning. The story of CFIC in India is also not very different. It was the fruit of providential coincidence between the dreams of Fr.Giovanni Cazzaniga, the superior general of CFIC in the year 1973, for an opening in India and the desire of Fr.Mathew Chemmarapally,a diocesan priest ,to join a religious congregation.
In the month of September 1969 Fr.Mathew met two CFIC religious, Fr.Peter Broghi and Bro. Romeo Simoni at Cheruvandor, Kottayam. By end of the year he received an invitation from the superior General and he presented it to his Bishop. After a long silence he was permitted to join the congregation .Thus Fr. Mathew left for Rome in June 1971.After a few weeks, a group of youngsters from different parts of Kerala reached Rome. Fr.Mathew was admitted in the novitiate in September 1971 at La Storta, Rome.
On 24th June 1972 Fr.Mathew with Fr.Victoria visited India and they got the permission from Bishop Cornelious of Vijayapuram Diocese to open the first house Nirmalagiri, at Peroor.The first house, Nirmalagiri was blessed on 25th May 1976 by Bishop Cornelious.
After the initial growth that gave priority to vocation and formation, the CFIC in India gradually flourished with its variety of charitable activities manifesting all aspects of the charism of this founder blessed Luigi Maria Monti.At present the Indian CFIC has eleven communities. The CFIC in India though took birth in Kerala it flourished and extended its branches to the nearby states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
On 25 December 2000,it became a province and it was a mile stone in the journey of Indian CFIC. In order to incarnate the spirit and charism of Father Luigi Monti in India, the brothers have chosen almost all the sectors of apostolic activities like assistance to the physically and mentally challenged children, education of youth, caring the orphaned and needy boys and pastoral ministry.
