The Society of the Helpers of Mary is a women’s Congregation. The Society has 70 branches that are spread over India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Italy. Our Generalate and Mother House is situated at Andheri West, Mumbai, India.

VISION

We envisage a society where the values of compassion, equality, justice and harmony flourish and everyone experiences the fullness of life.

MISSION

To reach out to the powerless and the voiceless, especially women and children, and empowering them.

MOTTO

"Live for love"
The three equilateral triangles obtained by the symmetrical monogram ‘HM’ (Helpers of Mary) represent poverty, chastity and obedience. The three pairs of leaves of the lily denote three virtues – good intention, speech and deed – and the flower, the virginity. The above possessions enable the Helpers of Mary to reach the Cross – Lord Jesus Christ in union. The perfect circle around the symbol means fullness as also the halo of Mary which The Helpers of Mary are called to imitate in their living style.

OUR STORY

Our narrative begins in the humble milieu of St Catherine’s Home, for it is from there that the first group of Marys emerged.

St Catherine’s Home had been set up by an English woman, Ms Ida Dickenson, in 1922 to provide a safe haven for young girls. As the number of children increased steadily, she handed it over to the Daughters of the Cross (FC). In 1936 Sr Anna Huberta was put in charge of the Home. She was a visionary, deeply rooted in faith in God and a determination to spread the gospel of love to all, excluding none.

The Home was a shelter for children who came from broken families and the women whose circumstances were desperate. Sr Anna Huberta was deeply moved by their plight. She recognised that it is common to give alms to children who beg, and offer advice and perhaps prayers to persons in desperate situations, but it is difficult to take them in and make a place for them within our own lives. Yet, she did not see this as impractical but as a driving force. She welcomed all with love and respect, and gave of herself untiringly for their betterment.

Inspired by her dedication, a band of nine young women in the Home yearned to devote themselves to helping the unfortunate. Recognising this, Mother Anna Huberta nurtured their spiritual growth through prayer and encouraged them to find their strength and joy in Jesus. On 27 March 1942, at the celebration of the Eucharist, these nine women took a pledge to be like Mary our Blessed Mother: simple and pure, with one desire—to take Jesus to all people. Though the Helpers of Mary—as they came to be called—suffered many setbacks, their numbers grew and they were finally recognised as a pious association on 9 March 1962.

However, even before that, they were called to help the helpless beyond the confines of the Home. The experience encouraged them to unfold their special charism—to care not only for those who came to them for shelter and help, but also to meet the impoverished and marginalised in their own world and to help them to face and overcome their challenges.

From their ‘first Bethlehem’ in Worli, the Society branched out across the metropolis of Mumbai to far-flung states in the country. Mother Anna Huberta’s vision of a group of women, who would live their charism immersed in the society and situations of the people they serve, sharing their lives and bringing them hope and love, became a concrete reality.

Over the years the Helpers of Mary have continuously reached out to communities who are not served by the ordinary channels of welfare and education. They are now active in 69 centres spread over India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Italy.

On 22 April 1984 the Society of the Helpers of Mary was established as a diocesan congregation, and on 19 March 2001 it was raised to the Order of Pontifical Right.

OUR FOUNDER

Mother Anna Huberta (31.07.1909 – 04.07.1973)

Mechernich, Germany, 31 July 1909, a girl – Gertrud – was born to Anna and Hubert Roggendorf. Little did they know then that their daughter would go on to live in a different continent, and would change the world for so many.

At 19, Gertrud joined the Daughters of the Cross (FC) at Haus Aspel, Germany, where she made her First Profession. She took her parents’ names, Anna and Hubert. In 1932 she was sent to London to learn English to prepare her for work in India, and on 1 December of that year she arrived at St Joseph, Bandra, Mumbai (then Bombay). In 1934 she took her final vows. She was later transferred to St Catherine’s Home, an orphanage for girls, then in Kandivali, and in 1938 she was made Superior of the Home.

Youthful, energetic and enthusiastic, Mother Anna Huberta was a visionary who didn’t hesitate to reform systems to meet new circumstances. Moved by the plight of the impoverished she saw all around, she understood that almsgiving was a temporary aid; accompanying them in their struggles was more difficult but a far-reaching benefit. So she put all her efforts into making the Home a house of joy and hope for all.

Since the sisters working in the Home were small in number, the older girls were trained to look after the younger ones. Thus, they learned how to care for others and so developed a sense of responsibility. It is notable that it was from these girls that the first group of Marys arose. And it is to them that Mother Anna Huberta passed on her life’s work and her ideals.

In 1947 Mother Anna Huberta was transferred to Nawabshah in North India. There she fell ill and had to go to Europe for treatment. But her heart was in India and she returned in 1954. She was appointed Mother Superior of St Catherine’s Home where she focused on the extension of the Home and the leadership of the Marys.

In 1964, during the 38th Eucharistic Congress held in Mumbai (then Bombay), Valerian Cardinal Gracias entrusted her with the organisation of social justice activities. Mother Anna Huberta did not want the rich to see themselves as donors giving hand-outs to the poor. She wanted them to participate as brothers and sisters in a community of love and mutual sharing. The visits to hospitals and prisons, orphanages and slums were not to be excursions where people could ease their conscience through charity; it was to be an eye-opener to their own contribution to the injustice that results in poverty. The children and inmates would not be seen as curiosities to be pitied but as hosts welcoming guests into their midst. The agapes that were organised by parishes across the city brought together the rich and poor, people of all faiths and nationalities and culture, all gathered together to share a meal in the spirit of love and as one family in the kingdom of God.

Mother Anna Huberta had an engaging personality that drew everyone to her – the marginalised and the privileged. Her eyes sparkled with love and though she was ever compassionate she was also tough. She gave completely of herself and pushed others to do the same. All day she was busy with her duties and responsibilities, first as Mother Superior of the Home and later as Mother Superior of Bombay Province. Yet she never failed to notice and encourage the efforts, however small, of the children, the sisters, the Marys, and the benefactors. She had friends all over the world and after a long day she would sit down to write to them, often late into the night. Still, next morning she was the first to arrive at chapel.

Love of God was at the core of her being. Mother Anna Huberta found strength in prayer and spent long hours in the chapel. She trusted implicitly in God’s power to resolve every difficulty. She related many stories of how God worked miracles in their lives, especially when times were bleak. Nevertheless, though her faith was central to her, she respected the beliefs of others. She appreciated their piety and came to develop a deep love for India and its people.

This love was reciprocated amply by people of all strata of society. In 1970 she fell ill and was sent to Cologne, Germany, for treatment. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and during that time she received many messages of good wishes and concern from the people of India, including the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Determined to spend her last days with the children of the Home and her beloved Marys, she returned to India. In March 1973 she slipped into a coma and on 4 July 1973 she breathed her last. Her grave lies on the border between the Mother House of the Helpers of Mary and St Catherine’s Home (FC) since she belonged to both.

Mother Anna Huberta regarded the Marys as her daughters and the heirs of her work. For us, her legacy lives on in the works she started, in the devotion to God that she inculcated in each one of us, in the spirit of dedicated service to all creation that she inspired in us, and in the joy of purpose that she kindled in us to live for love.