Poorna Deep – Geddalahalli Community – SACRED HEART BROTHERS SOCIETY

The presence and service of Sacred Heart Brothers in the Archdiocese of Bangalore dates back to April 1, 1953, when the then Archbishop, Most Rev. Thomas Pothacamury, invited our Brothers to serve at St. Mary’s Home for Children at Cambridge Road, Ulsoor, with Fr. Brown. After a brief period, Brothers moved to St. Mary’s Campus in Thomastown, where they took care of the students who were studying at St. Aloysius Middle School. Rev. Br. Kannikkairaj SHJ was instrumental in starting the carpentry section, and Rev. Br. Irudayaraj SHJ initiated St. Mary’s Printing Press. Because of the care and catechesis given to the orphan boys in 1954, a good number of them received baptism and embraced Christianity on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In 1957, Rev. Br. Arputham SHJ created a model agricultural farm, first at St. Mary’s campus, where the present-day NBCLC exists. The service to the boys at St. Mary’s was so remarkable that on October 26, 1957, a good number of students again embraced Catholicism. In 1960, a Kannada-medium school was started at St. Mary’s campus, for which Brothers were instrumental and a big support. Later, an English-medium school was started, and Rev. Br. Matthew SHJ was its first Principal. In 1963, the building where the orphan boys were housed temporarily became the birthplace of St. John’s Medical College. Till 1972, Brothers were working at St. Mary’s Campus, and when Fr. Joseph D’Silva became Director of the Institute, they left the campus after having served in various capacities for almost 18 years.

When His Eminence Cardinal Lourdusamy was the Archbishop of Bangalore, one Brother was his personal assistant for a short period. Then, when His Grace Archbishop Arockiasamy took charge of the Archdiocese, he once again invited the Brothers to run the Industrial Institute at St. Mary’s, but that lasted only for two years. It was at the initiative of Rev. Br. Arputham SHJ that this place at Geddalahalli was purchased, overcoming a lot of challenges. But the Providence of God never failed. Hailing the good work of Brothers, Mr. Joseph Reddy, a good Catholic and a well-known philanthropist, donated a piece of land on April 29, 1963, at Lingarajapuram, and in addition to that, Brothers bought an additional piece of land and started social work initially.

On July 8, 1963, a big piece of land at Geddalahalli was purchased from different people, and a new House was built for the Brothers in 1964. The Brothers started working in this part of the village, which was very remote and on the periphery of the city of Bangalore. We were the first religious community to come to this area. Brothers were involved in various services such as setting up a model farm, training village farmers in agriculture, visiting families, building cooperative housing, skill development of youth for employment, government scholarships for students, creating health awareness, providing high-yielding local vegetable seeds, teaching catechism, forming village roads, digging up open wells for farmers, supplying drinking water to the villagers, supplying sheep, goats, and milking cows, and setting up breeding farms and animal husbandry.

Brother’s Model Farm attracted many, including the government, for which Brothers were awarded credentials twice by the Chief Minister of Karnataka for producing high-yielding vegetables and supplying high-breed seeds. Since 1963, this place at Geddalahalli has been the Center for Agricultural Training and Social Work. In the year 1988, it became the House of Formation for the Brothers (Pre-Novitiate) and continued for several years. In 1998, we started Yuvamithra, an ITI on campus, to reach out to a larger population, the poor and vulnerable, especially youth. From 1997 to 2007, Brothers visited different villages, slums, and stone quarries, conducting studies and surveys. As a result, in 2004, we started Planet Hope for quarry children. This is an initiative of Rev. Br. A. Victordass, SHJ. In 2005, we started St. Mary’s English School, primarily to educate the quarry children and the marginalized in this area. Rev. Br. A. Gnanapragasam, SHJ., is the founder of this School.

To support Planet Hope and sustain our social work, in 2007, OPTIM Printing Press was started. In the same year, our social work, under the banner “BIRDS” (Brothers Integrated Rural Development Society), was formally established by Rev. Br. A. Victordass SHJ, and today it caters to over 2000 beneficiaries and operates in 50 different centers and Villages through its various programs. In continuation of our educational apostolate, in 2013, St. Mary’s PU College was established. Today, Brothers are engaged in the following apostolates: Education, Social Work, printing, and caring for vulnerable children. Ashraya Deep, Kannur, was established in 2006 as a daycare center and dispensary; later, St. Mary’s Primary School was established to cater to the needs of quarry children and the migrant Roginga Muslim children.