Establishing an agricultural farm was the vision of our founding fathers like Fr. Jose Puthiyaparambill, MSFS and Fr. Peter Chakkulickal, MSFS. They had initiated daringly establishing an agricultural farm with the purpose of supporting the minor seminary at Thirugokarnam, and so they were looking for the availability of land. They finally found 46acres of land near Vayalogam and bought it in 1989 with the support of Vizakh province. The land consists of both cultivable and non-cultivable areas. The farm is 16 kilometres away from SFS minor seminary and it comes under Vayalogam parish. Fr. Peter was looking after the farm while he was the procurator of the seminary at Thirugokarnam, and he took lots of initiatives to develop the land, naming it as Christ the King farm. He cultivated various seasonal crops to support the minor seminary. As there was no house in the farm for the priests to reside, he made efforts and constructed a farmhouse with the support of the province, and it was blessed in December 1990. He was the first priest to take his residence at the farmhouse in the year 1991. Fr. Peter, with the help of the workers, started to cultivate paddy and sugarcane, planting fruit trees like mango, guava, Chico, custard, jackfruit, gooseberry and trees like coconut, redwood, teak, manga Kani, and vengai. However, there was no remarkable income, except in the initial years. Moreover, after Fr. Peter was transferred, the procurators of SFS minor seminary, the parish priests of Thirukogarnam parish, Fr. A. Patrick Jayaraj, MSFS, the bursar at the regional house, and Fr. S. Wilson Fernando, MSFS, the province bursar at Trichy were entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the farmland. From the year 2010 onwards, priests were specifically appointed as superiors and directors of the farmhouse. The first Fransallian community was formed in July 2012 with two confreres, namely, Fr. A. Selvaraj, MSFS and Fr. Maria Francis Britto, MSFS. The confreres were sedulously committed to develop the farm and offering pastoral service to the neighbouring parishes.
Confreres taking care of the farm between 1991 to 2012
Fr. Peter Chakkulikal MSFS,while serving as the procurator of SFS minor seminary at Thirugokarnam, took the initiative as the pioneer to buy the land and made tremendous efforts in developing the land by cultivating various crops like paddy and sugarcane. He was the one who built the grotto of Christ the King, cleared the two existing wells and drilled boreholes to get more water resources, planting various trees around the land. He also built the priest’s house for residence, and the seminarians were trained in this farm about field work, farming and cultivation. It was indeed a great learning experience for them.
Fr. M. Victor MSFStook care of the farm after Fr. Peter was transferred, while serving as the procurator of the minor seminary.
Fr. S. Arockiasamy, MSFS was appointed as the procurator of the seminary, and he was looking after the farm, doing cultivation whenever possible according to the seasons.
Fr. S. Joseph Xavier, MSFS while serving as the parish priest of Thirugokarnam parish, was entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the farm. He was actively involved in developing the farm, doing cultivations and planting different trees. He employed workers to look after the cattle and the cultivation.
Fr. P. Maria Pushpam MSFS took charge as the procurator of minor Seminary, and he was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the farm. When the Chennai Region was created, Fr. A. Patrick Jayaraj MSFSwho was the regional bursar, was looking after the farm from Pudukkottai for a short period.
Then, Fr. S. Alexander MSFS, serving as the procurator of the minor seminary, was entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the farm. When the Chennai Region was raised to the status of a province, Fr. S. Wilson Fernando MSFS while serving as the provincial bursar was looking after the farm from the provincial house in Trichy.
Fr. S. John Milton MSFS was appointed as the full-time in charge of the farm in 2009, and he was residing at the SFS ITI in Adappakarachatthiram, looking after the farm.
After Fr. Milton was transferred, Fr. S. Vanathaiyan, MSFS was designate to Rev. Dr. Antony Devotta, the bishop of Trichy who appointed him as the parish priest of Vayalogam parish for a few years and so he was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the farm. All the confreres made efforts and worked hard within their own limit to develop the farm and generate income for the province.
Developments Undertaken at Various Times
As the fathers, while exercising other responsibilities at different communities, were looking after the farm, there was no official community formed at the farmhouse, Therefore, after Fr. S. Vanathaiyan, MSFS was transferred, Fr. A. Selvaraj, MSFS was appointed as the director along with Fr. Maria Francis Britto, MSFS and they formed a community in 2012. During this period, they took quite many initiatives to develop the farm by planting various trees and doing full-fledged cultivation like flowers, cattle farming with cows, goats, and poultry, installing drip irrigation to water the plants. In the process, they initiated establishing a boys’ home to foster, guide and educate the poor boys who were school dropouts. Fr. A. Selvaraj, MSFS presented the proposal to the provincial Fr. A. Dharmaraj, MSFS and he, in consultation with the administration, approved the proposal. Then, they started to construct the first phase of boy’s home with the help from Fr. Emile Mayoraz, MSFS, our former Superior General, and the new house was named “Mayoraz Boys’ Home” in honor of Fr. Emile Mayoraz, MSFS, and it was blessed by Fr. A. Dharmaraj, MSFS, the provincial in 2014 and the chapel in the house was blessed by Most Rev. Dr. Antony Devotta, the bishop of Trichy in the same year. There were 9 boys and 5 girls at the initial stage. The girls were staying with the sisters and in the following year there were 15 boys residing at the new house. Fr. A. Selvaraj, MSFS was appointed as the director and superior of the boys’ home. The provincial appointed regent brothers to assist the directors in the subsequent years. The number of students residing at the Mayoraz home fluctuated every year. They were sent to the nearby high schools for their education. Fr. S. Edward Xavier, MSFS doing pastoral ministry in Germany generously supported this project with the collaboration of his parishioners.
Fr. A. Selvaraj, MSFS was transferred after four years of service, and then Fr. G. David Vincent, MSFS was appointed as the director and superior of the boys’ home along with Br. Britto Clinton, MSFS as the regent. During his time, the second phase of the boy’s home was constructed with the support of the province. He also vigorously continued the cultivation of various crops and cattle breading which supported the needs of the home. After Fr. David Vincent, MSFS was transferred, Fr. A. Maria John Franklin, MSFS was appointed as the director and superior of the boys’ home. He made all the efforts possible to develop the farm and take care of the students in the house. After him, Fr. K. Dominic Savio, MSFStook charge as the director and superior of the center. He also took various initiatives and worked hard to develop the home and farming. He was actively involved with commitment in cultivating the land with different crops as possible, and continued the cattle farming with cows, goats, and poultry. Fr. S. Joseph, MSFS doing pastoral ministry in Germany supported the home with generous help from his friends and parishioners to construct cow shed which would generate substantial income to meet the needs of the house. He served at the boy’s home for three years and after him, Fr. M. John de Britto, MSFS was appointed as the superior and director of the house. He also was very much interested in cultivating the land, planting trees and cattle farming with poultry and cattle.
Succession of the Superiors / the Directors
Fr. A. Selvaraj MSFS 2012 – 2016
Fr. David Vincent MSFS 2016 – 2017
Fr. A. Maria John Franklin MSFS 2017 – 2018
Fr. Dominic k MSFS 2018 – 2021
Fr. John de Britto MSFS 2021 –
Priests in Residence: Fr. Edmund MSFS; Fr. Simon Prabu MSFS; Bro. Anto Prabin, MSFS
Succession of the Regents: Br. Britto Clinton, MSFS 2016 – 2017; Br. Maria Arockiyam, MSFS 2017 – 2018; Br. Ashok Kishor, MSFS 2018 – 2019; Br. Dony, MSFS 2020 – 2021; Br. A. Selva Prakash, MSFS 2021 – 2022; Br. Dabith Sing, MSFS and Br. Abish Maria, MSFS 2023 – 2024; Br. A. Abishek, MSFS and Br. Mariya Abilas, MSFS;
