A renowned educator with a heart akin to the Good Shepherd, Sr. Christine Vas, who dedicated numerous years to shaping and mentoring students in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, has been elected as the new Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo. In this interview, she reflects on her vision and dreams for God’s people, emphasizing collaborative efforts and unwavering commitment infused with apostolic zeal in mission.
Hearty Congratulations and God’s blessings Sr. Christine upon being elected as the Superior General of our congregation! How has your family background influenced your values and perspectives?
I come from Holy Family Church, Omzoor, Mangalore, where I attended St. Joseph’s Hr. Primary School and Nitya Sahaya Matha High School, managed by the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo. My family instilled in me deep faith and Gospel values. The parish clergy, Sisters, teachers, and extended family played vital roles in nurturing my spiritual growth. I am the first born, and my youngest sibling is also a religious of St. Charles, studying at St. Johns’ Medical College, Bangalore.
My father enriched our lives with spiritual nourishment through sharing the lives of saints, reflections from Sunday sermons, and his own encounters with God. My parents’ actions spoke volumes, instilling in us values of prayer, honesty, equality, charity, hard work, generosity, compassion, service, and availability from an early age. Our family’s unity in prayer has remained strong, and the unwavering support of my siblings and their families has been invaluable on my religious journey.
How have your educational experiences influenced your understanding of leadership and service within the congregation?
As a young religious in 1988, I was sent to Sarguja District in North India, which later became part of the new state of Chattisgarh in 2000. I spent a major part of my life in MP. My focus was on teaching children, many of whom were from the tribal community with illiterate parents. Emphasizing the importance of family in students’ lives, I prioritized family visits and parent meetings. Regular seminars, awareness programs, and input sessions were organized to educate parents on their responsibilities, health, hygiene, and grooming skills.
Motivated by the stark realities faced by tribal communities and their lack of basic necessities, I dedicated myself to their welfare through quality education and character formation. Serving and empowering them provided valuable insights into service and leadership. A leader’s democratic attitude, positive outlook, and systematic planning of congregational policies leave a lasting impact, which must be translated into action, especially for those on the peripheries. Leadership is service, and leading by example is the most effective form of teaching.
How do you envision incorporating the core values instilled during your formation into your leadership as Superior General?
Journeying down my memory lane I feel proud that the initial formation, different stages of formation and ongoing formation in the congregation was well balanced and quite challenging. The formation provided ample opportunities to be rooted in core values, to be grounded in faith, Word of God, charism, spirit of the congregation, community life, preparation for new responsibilities and missionary initiation which cemented my life as a religious. Integrating my core values into my leadership practice demanded commitment, self-discipline and courage. I am convinced that living my values authentically makes the process of animation more meaningful while unlocking higher levels of performance in community living and apostolate. I want to ground my leadership in Synodality, build up a foundation of trust by listening, participation, open communication, team spirit, discernment and decision-making. I wish to integrate all that I have learnt in the congregation over the years into the fabric of how I lead, communicate values, look at all major decisions through the lens of gospel values, to walk the talk, maintaining integrity and growth.
How do you plan to nurture and strengthen the charism and mission of the congregation in the changing world?
The charism of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo is to incarnate the compassionate love of God for all people, especially the poor and marginalized through all our ministries. Compassion is a fundamental quality, an ingredient that defines our very human nature. Without compassion, we would be insensitive and heartless and not capable of relating to one another. We need compassionate Sisters who put the needs of others before themselves. We have elaborate strategies to live the charism in our own communities and allow it to overflow into our ministries. Living in today’s busy and hectic world, we sometimes get carried away with our own problems. Lots of efforts are made during formation and thereafter to enable the sisters to imbibe the true spirit of charism and mission. We spell out our charism, showing concern for the poor by teaching, caring for the sick, relieving spiritual, moral, mental, emotional and physical suffering. The Charism and Mission is nurtured through prayer and strengthened by our preferential option for the poor, listening to God in the outcry of the migrants, refugees, the indigenous, the women, the prisoners, the sick, the elderly the young. We need to interpret today’s challenges in the light of the charism.
You were assisting the Superior General as her first councilor for the past 6 years. How do you plan to apply the lessons learned from those experiences to effectively lead the congregation as Superior General?
Programs are planned with a clear vision, during Regional, Provincial and General chapter, on community, province and congregational level, keeping in focus the thrust of the congregation for 6 years based on the contemporary context. These have to be implemented in time, well monitored and evaluated from time to time taking into consideration the stakeholders and beneficiaries. We need to orient the sisters annually to be efficacious, build up leadership, empower younger leaders, promote good vocations, emphasize on formation in mission, make optimum use of the potentiality of the human resources, make wise use of land and infrastructure, networking and collaboration and promote SCB Lay Associates. Listening must lead us to respond creatively to the new forms of dehumanization and poverty and to make the contribution of an eco-theological reflection for the defense of life threatened throughout the ecosystem.
What do you perceive as the greatest challenge facing the congregation currently and how do you plan to address it?
There are many challenges facing the congregation. One among them is the blurring of Value Systems. On the whole we see that the social situation in which we live, poses a greater challenge to an austere way of life that a Religious congregation demands. The avalanche of powerful media of communication with the advent of the so-called ‘information society’ has caused a profound cultural revolution. Other challenges are, the need for ongoing formation, getting involved in the formation of lay people, the challenge of fighting against poverty and misery, political interference, religious intolerance, the challenge of Inter-religious Dialogue and the challenge of decline in the quality of vocations.
We have been already addressing these challenges on different levels, based on the needs of the members. We have advocated retreats, seminars, input sessions, training and updating, networking and collaborating with likeminded people, psychological counseling, mentoring, understanding and encouraging, advocating a well-planned strategy to preserve vocations and promote new vocations by exemplary lives in our own institutions.
The Church is marching forward with the Synodal Spirit. The congregation too stressed on the Synodal journey of the congregation as ‘Sowers of Hope.’ How will you engage with and involve the sisters in decision-making processes to ensure their voices are heard and valued?
We have given due priority to the synodal spirit and it’s three pillars. We desire to make synodality a reality in our community life by cultivating a culture of listening and dialogue, embracing humility, utilizing effective communication tools and practices, fostering collaborative decision-making, promoting ongoing formation and education, building relationships beyond the community and supporting appropriate structures and processes. Integrating prayer and discernment into our communication processes, seeking constant spiritual guidance and inspiration from the Holy Spirit during all our decision-making matters in the days ahead of us. We ought to encourage open dialogue where everyone feels safe to express their thoughts without fear of judgment and to train sisters in active listening techniques to understand others genuinely.
Thank you, Sr. Christine, for sharing your inspiring life journey and your vision for the congregation. With your guidance and foresight, we anticipate continued growth in advancing the Kingdom of God.
Sr Rita Shanthi SCB
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