It would not have been possible for an ordinary woman of the 19th century to establish a revolutionary trend in that time of slavery and bondage if she were not a woman of great valour, strong-minded, and fearless. The brave Servant of God was able to carry out the ‘breaking away with the past’ because she possessed the virtue of fortitude.

She realised that Christianity is an authentic way of life. She also understood that Christianity was not meant to be a comfortable, easy way for the masses. Hence, she was steadfast that the Lord was leading her in the mission, despite her struggles in the challenging situation, to make herself a fitting sacrifice to the Lord who called her.

A witnessing life of simplicity and hard work

The Servant of God realised that the examples for following Christ in His virtue of Poverty were the Early Christians of the 1st century. Knowing that, she put all her properties in common for the common cause of the girls’ education and the mission. She did not want to possess anything for her own benefit but use it for the welfare of the oppressed young girls, poor children, and the people in her mission area, because of which people hail her even today. In the same way, she wanted her religious nuns to possess Christ alone, as St. Paul says, as their treasure and to consider all else a waste.

The Servant of God offered everything of her own for the legitimate use of the common good. The Servant of God was a humble woman and hard worker. Her travels, varied efforts, and never-ending sacrifices would proclaim her saintly heart and body loud to the world and her resolve to accomplish what she had set her mind on:

• To start the school for girls at Kilachery
• To gather children for school and catechism
• To send the sisters to the novitiate
• To raise funds for the education of the girl children

Her long, tedious journeys, sacrifices, austere mortifications, and unstinted hard work worsened her health condition very severely. She had chronic asthma, which she patiently and silently bore for 20 years. But Gnanamma loved to do God’s work with an uncomplaining spirit.

Surrendered her struggles to the Lord as a living sacrifice

The life of the Servant of God is mainly characterised by her sacrificial love and willingness to surrender herself as a sacrifice on the Altar of God. By her total submission to the Will of God, she endured the sufferings at many critical and decision-making moments. She was in great despair when God took away her beloved brother and parents from her life very early. It was indeed a big storm when she lost her husband, who died of cholera in an unknown and far-off place. She realised God spoke to her, revealed His plan, and called her into a new life. The Servant of God is known for her virtue of sacrificial love. In responding to God generously, she made sacrifices at every stage of her life:

• As the first sacrifice, she allowed her husband to immerse himself in the loving service to the people of God— assisting the missionaries and being involved in his missions as a catechist. And when he died while doing his ministry, it was a huge sacrifice that she had to accept in her life.
• As a second sacrifice, she allowed all her sons to become missionaries to continue God’s work.
• She sacrificed the supportive presence of her relatives and friends at Phirangipuram and went to Madras.
• She sacrificed all her joys and pleasures for God’s work in Madras.
• She sacrificed her living house and properties at Phirangipuram, sold everything, brought the money to Kilachery, and spent all her money on God’s mission, educating girls and children and founded a religious congregation to continue God’s mission.

Constant exploration for the cause of the women

She was a woman of constant search for learning and exploration. She learnt a great deal more from the Word of God and the examples of noble personalities than what one would derive from any university. As an illumined visionary, she exhibited creativity and flexibility in identifying and evaluating the adverse situation of society and finding a lasting cure for human irrationality or fallibility.

Mother Gnanamma was keen to observe the situation that prevailed and the plight of the girls in the village of Kilachery. And she realised that only the light of spiritual and secular education would bring them out of their misery. Mother Gnanamma got on to her kneels to submit herself to the ordeals and test herself in the fire of search and exploration. Lo! ‘The Clarammal School’ for girls was born on 03.05.1863. A school exclusively for girls would not have been a reality if Mother Gnanamma herself was not committed to learning and growing in God’s Wisdom.

Mother Gnanamma was always open to learning life lessons from various situations. She was so much associated with the missionary priests, Apostolic Vicars and noble people that she always lived in a higher realm of spiritual state. The Clarammal School demonstrates her aspirations and dreams for the hundreds and thousands of future generations.

Committed to catechise people

Catechising and imparting religious education was the very breath of Gnanamma. As the daughter of a catechist, as the wife of a catechist and as the mother of her five priest sons, she was always directly and indirectly involved in the mission of catechising the people. She never missed any spiritual or pious activity in the Church, especially the Holy Mass. Thus, she was a self-ordained pastoral woman. During her stay in Kilachery between 1860 and 1874, she volunteered to take catechism to the children in the village. She had a deep thirst for pastoral service. The baptism record in Kilachery parish bears witness to the fact that she was a Godmother and sponsor for 37 children in Phirangipuram. When she breathed her last, she instructed her spiritual daughters to commit themselves to catechise the people. The Servant of God initiated and led the homemakers to pray in adoration during the noon hours at Kilachery and the surrounding villages.

Radiated God’s love through charity

The Servant of God gave her complete life for the love of the neighbour and God. She was not concentrating on working for her welfare, but rather all the time she gave herself for the sake of the love of the other. The life of the Servant of God was a life that was shared, a life that was broken for others. All her properties and possessions – movable and immovable became her capital for the early Church – our Congregation.

The heart of Gnanamma’s vocation was charity. Charity is reflected in all her virtues, and all her service to God and her neighbour flowed from this charity. It was because of her heroic charity, displayed in acts of love and service to God and neighbour, that her faith in God was nourished. Her hope was sustained through the many trials and challenges of her life as an instrument of God at Kilachery. The Servant of God was full of maternal heart to love all people, especially young women.

Every day after the holy mass, Gnanamma met the sick and visited the field. After completing her chores, she would teach the children with utmost care and concern. Being a single woman and performing all these works with a generous heart was an achievement of great magnitude.

Recalling the charity of the Servant of God, it is written in Gnanamma Kadhaigal by Mr.Elias, “I remember the stories told by my grandmother and grandfather. Thatipathri Gnanamma went to Phirangipuram and sold her land, jewels and brass utensils to acquire money. Gnanamma purchased 14 acres of cultivable land in Mappedu with the money. She was the first woman farmer to cultivate in the field and remained an outstanding personality.”

Generously shared with the poor

“Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). She lived a life true to the Gospel values. A predominant virtue in the life of Mother Gnanamma is her generosity.

She suffered the life of a widow, having lost her husband at the early age of 37, leaving behind five children with her. Yet from the moment Servant of God Gnanamma received a rich inheritance of respect and recognition at Kilachery, she understood the true meaning of Christian charity and generously distributed her wealth to those in need by establishing a school meant for girl children.

Even today, the villagers in Phirangipuram remember how generous she was towards needy people and the poor. The Servant of God used to give dresses and food materials to those in need. Once, Mr Showraiyya, an elderly gentleman, says that his grandfather had told him that the Servant of God was very kind to the poor, giving out the share of the produce from her fields of cultivation, rice and dhal for the daily living of the poor in and around her house and place. She also continued the same in Kilachery too.

Empathetic towards neighbour

Everyone deserves everything. That was the guiding principle and conviction of Gnanamma’s life. And Servant of God went about doing things to make her conviction a reality. The experiences narrated by people who worked for her proved that the Servant of God bought 14 acres of land in Mappedu. She grew paddy there and fed the children from the income of the produce. During that time, not enough people would work in the field. Still, seven people worked energetically throughout the year in her field, namely Karuthamma, Muniamma, Kuruvamma, Mariamma, Maryamma, Govindaraj, and Arockiasamy. Each took care of two acres of the field. The Servant of God gave them two to three measures of paddy along with their wages.

According to the number of children in each household, she used to provide four to five measures of paddy. “As we were working in Mother’s/Amma’s field, we would not go elsewhere to work. For every yield, Mother gave us enough paddy for all of us. She would also give hay for the cattle. Mother would provide us with Ragi kali (ragi porridge), tamarind chutney and spicy lettuce (Gongura chutney) during harvest. Mother would never treat us as labourers but would look after us like we treat our guests. Mother loved the poor and needy. Mother would always help others, even if Mother did not have food. She was kind enough to provide others, as told by Karuthamma and Raju, who worked in the field.”

Maternal care for girl child and a catalyst in restoring the dignity of women

Love was the outstanding principle of her life, the call she received from the Lord to serve the girl children. Kilachery has become renowned due to the Servant of God and her ministry among the people there. She lived in a house with a country tile roof. She started a school in the name of St. Clara to provide primary education for girl children. No one came forward to join the school. So Gnanamma made the girls stay with her and started educating them. This school won the credit of being the first school for girls in South India. As Karasala Joseph said, “Girls without Education are like uncultivated land; grass may grow there, but there are no good children.”

The equality of men and women in society at the time of the Servant of God was undoubtedly an unimaginable dream, as we still hear the cries of women for liberation in this developing 21^st century. Deprived of education, women were traditionally involved in domestic and field work. No one could dare to speak against this traditional culture. In a situation where there was no space for alternate thinking, Gnanamma felt that she was called to be an agent of transformation and a catalyst to restore the dignity of Women. She was continuously questioning herself to find the right solutions for the problem. She restored the dignity of women through education.

Forgiving love for enemies

As she began educating girls, some villagers began to oppose her. Despite their opposition, she could withstand every challenge because her love for the girls and the poor was greater and stronger than her enemies. The Servant of God was very kind even to those who opposed her mission. She never failed to love even those who opposed her way of functioning in her mission.

The Servant of God stood up for the truth of God. This courage and boldness to live out a Christ-like life and incarnate the truth amidst problematic situations is the Gospel.

Promoter of gender justice

The Servant of God had a futuristic sense of social justice in the historic times of the 19^th century. As male children were given utmost priority to avail all privileges, girl children were under domestic slavery, busy with the regular household chores. It was an awakening to the whole of the society of her time. When others were silent, the Servant of God questioned this discrimination. In Kilachery, MEP Priests educated the boys.

When they did not even think about girls’ education, the Servant of God thought about it. She read the context of Kilachery and started a centre for girls’ education. She upheld justice in the lives of so many girls, children, and society. Hence, she was constantly vigilant to promote justice. The Servant of God made it her life philosophy. She showcased her way of life in justice. In this way, Mother Gnanamma blazed a spiritual path to living the Kingdom values heroically and witnessed the Gospel with holiness.