In her, there was total surrender and commitment
The life of Mother Gnanamma was other - oriented and dedicated to the welfare of others. The following noble qualities of our Foundress exhort us to commit ourselves for the cause of uplifting the life of the less privileged in the society:
(i). She renounced
Once she realized that she had a Call to promote the cause of women, she sold all her possession and committed her assets to the realization of her mission by establishing a school for girls. In order to ensure the continuity of her good work, she founded a Congregation though she was only an illiterate widow.
(ii). She announced
Though she was a married woman, she lived a life of selfless service and a witness to Gospel values. Thus, she was an unprofessed religious. She was convinced that her work was God’s own and surrendered herself completely as a child to God’s plan.
(iii). She pioneered
Gnanamma carried out her responsibilities in spite of tremendous difficulties and challenges. Though a young widow, she brought up her five sons strong in Christian faith. She pioneered a school for girls against the cultural norm of her time.
We are in the footsteps of Mother Gnanamma!
Mother Gnanamma’s faith in God and passionate love for the poor enabled her to become a prophetic visionary of the 19th Century. The spirituality of Mother Gnanamma today calls us to rejuvenate our way of thinking and mode of action according to the present scenario.
By being contemplative, we need to live in accordance with the Gospel values, seek the ways of God, sharpen the ways to contextualize her vision and respond to the present situation.
By being courageous includes denouncing the injustice, renouncing the selfish motives, facing the challenges with determination and expressing our solidarity in the struggles of the poor.
By being creative, we ought to broaden our vision, foresee the future of the Congregation, revitalize our ministries by innovative methods and integrate the sources and the strength of the sisters to reach out to the people.
HER HOLINESS
The spirit of Mother Gnanamma is vibrant that she captures the hearts of the people all over the world. Her daring step to abandon her own people and possession in order to empower the women through education enables us to explore new avenues to reach out to the marginalized. The continuous stream of people visiting her tomb at Kilacheri and the graces and favours received through her intercession has given us the impetus to desire to see her be raised to the altar of the Lord for the greater glory of God and the enhancement of faith and holiness of His people. Hence, our Congregation submitted a petition for the Cause of Beatification of Mother Thatipathri Gnanamma to Most Rev.Dr.George Antonysamy, Archbishop of Madras - Mylapore, on 21.09.2013 to obtain the necessary Nihil Obstat from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints and eventually appoint a Board of Inquiry. After having examined the petition and consulted the competent Congregations at Vatican City, the Holy See declared Thatipathri Gnanamma Innaiah as ‘Servant of God’ on 21.01.2014.
The Archdiocese of Madras - Mylapore thereby has initiated the Cause of the Sainthood of Servant of God Thatipathri Gnanamma. By the grace of God, the Solemn Closing Ceremony of the Diocesan Inquiry on Life and Heroic Virtues of Servant of God Mother Thatipathri Gnanamma happened on 22.07.2022 in St.Thomas Cathedral Basilica at Santhome, Chennai.