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Religious Institutions of St. Joseph Church, Lonavala The following Religious Institutions are attached to the Parish:
The Don Bosco Apostolic School This institution of Don Bosco School and Aspirantate which was established in 1963 is the pride of Mumbai Salesian Province. It’s a place where we mould youngsters not only to become good Indian Citizens, or good Christians but also they are specially prepared to work in the Lord’s Vineyard. At present in the Aspirantate we have 23 apostolic boys studying in classes 8th to the 10th & 40 aspirants studying in classes 11th and 12th. The total strength of students in our school and college is 700. In the Salesian community we have 4 priests, 2 coadjutor brothers and 2 clerics. It is a beautiful feeling working in this community as brothers in the Lord. We belong to the parish of St. Joseph and do lend a helping hand whenever required. Fr. Edwin Joseph, the Parish Priest maintains an excellent rapport with us and is more than a friend of the Salesian Community. He is extremely generous and makes it a point to come personally, to invite us for all the parish celebrations. On behalf of our community I take this opportunity to thank our Parish Priest Fr. Edwin Joseph and the Parish Community for adding more meaning to our lives. May St. Joseph , the Patron Saint of our Parish bless each family in this parish abundantly. I also ask you to pray in a very special way for our boys here who are aspiring to become Priests or Brothers. Yours in Don Bosco, Fr. Thomas D’Costa Don Bosco Community The Auxilium Convent, Reywoods On April 18th, 1961 Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco stepped into Lonavala to begin their work for poor young girls. The School was opened on May 1st 1961, with 15 pupils. The main aim according to the Charism was to provide good education to the children of the locality, irrespective of cast and creed, leading them along the path of Justice and Truth while spreading the Good News of Salvation to all. In 1969 the 2nd phase of the work was the boarding for girls to help and strengthen the school. Gradually the number of boarders increased. Thus the school too began to grow. The boarding home “Premdaan” is now open to orphans and girls of Std V and above. Today the School is providing good education to the children of the locality and those far and near. This includes academic training, sound formation and training in leadership, so that the girls become food an honest citizens of the country and worthy of the kingdom of heaven. The boarding home ‘Premdaan is a home away from home for girls from Std. V to X, where the Sisters take care of their all round formation, specially Spiritual, intellectual and emotional. The girls learn to take responsibilities and are given opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities and thus enabling them to develop their God given gifts and talents. And thus be prepared to face the various challenges in life. Priority is given to Spiritual formation of these young girls through Sacramental life, Marian devotion, Catechism, love for prayer and the Word of God. Moral formation is imparted through daily instructions, Goodnight talks, Good morning classes. Through group systems they are initiated to carryout various feast and programmes. Thus helping them to grow in the love of God and learn to work in collaboration, co-operation and co-responsibility.
St. Joseph Training Center, Lonavala
Sadhana Institute was founded in 1973 by Fr.Anthony de Mello, S.J. It is a centre that aims at the experiential and conceptual integration of psychology and spirituality. Grounded in the Christian faith tradition and deeply rooted in the Indian spiritual heritage, the Institute adopts an interdisciplinary approach in order to evolve an integrated approach to the understanding and practice of health and wholeness. The psycho-spiritual education imparted by Sadhana aims at the integral formation of those in leadership positions and whose work involves caring for others – superiors, formation personnel, spiritual guides and counsellors. Besides a number of shorter Courses of varying duration, the Institute also offers a two year Master’s level Formative Psychology course which gives professional training in counselling and spiritual direction. Sadhana Institute places a definite emphasis on the integration of the different aspects of the human person such as the emotional, intellectual and the spiritual. Besides the Resident Staff, there are a number of visiting staff, religious personnel as well as lay people, who help Sadhana to keep its programs professional and of high quality. Sadhana Staff
Our home for boys located at Old Khandala Road –
is Snehasadan Home No. 14 started in 1982, primarily for boys from
broken or single parent families. So far we have had 3 house parents
who have successfully parented nearly 2000 boys. At present Mr. Armando
and Alice Fernandes have been there for nearly 10 years. Every year 4-6
boys are reinstated back into their families after completing their
studies or as soon as the family situation is better and they can assume
responsibility for their children. |
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