FRANCISCAN CLARIST CONGREGATION (FCC)
- St. Francis of Assisi who followed Christ intimately brought about a great revolution in the history of the Catholic Church with his genuine gospel life. The Franciscan spirit of the 13th century reached Kerala in the second half of the 19th century. The Franciscan Clarist Congregation in Kerala is the fulfillment of the ardent desire of eight pious women to lead a genuine Franciscan way of life. Their ardent desire to follow the crucified Christ after the example of St. Francis and his first woman-disciple St. Clare was fulfilled by the establishment of a religious congregation called Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) in 1888.
- At present FCC has 7000 sisters in 24 provinces and 5 regions engaged in various apostolic activities in different parts of the world. Alphona Jyothi Province Bharananganm is one of the provinces of FCC. St. Alphonsa-the first saintly daughter of Mother India is a precious gift given by the Heavenly Father to the FCC, to the Syro Malabar Church and to the Church of India. The outstanding characteristic of the congregation is its loving service to all, especially the poor, the neglected, the oppressed, the exploited and the destitute recognizing spirit of prayer, life of hard work and rendering humble service in accordance with the needs of the time to spread the kingdom of God.
- Alphonsa Residential School Bharananganm is established by the daughters of FCC inspired and enlightened by the divine light to renovate the world by imparting ideal education with its unflagging spirit.