Mother Veronica of the
passion
Founder of the Apostolic Carmel
Made by: Swagatama Mukherjee
XI-B
7
Henry Daniel and Mariana Haultain, a loving couple
were the parents of Sophie, later named Mother Veronica,
the founder of Apostolic Carmel.
Henry and Mariana, along with their first child, shifted to
Constantinople. On 1st October,1823, their second child,
Sophie was born.
When Sophie was five, she used to attend sewing classes
conducted by her mother where she would learn to sew .It was
then when she learnt about charity and helping the poor
since the money they saved from sewing was given to the poor
for their betterment.
In 1828, when the family shifted to the beautiful island of Corfu, Sophie
and her sisters had lessons at home. It was here that their Catholic
Maltese maid, Terese taught Sophie about Guardian Angles and
blessed Mother of God. This was perhaps the beginning of Sophie’s
deep love for Virgin Mary.
At seventeen, Sophie had grown into a charming young woman
and moved among a large circle of friends. She and her sister
frequently visited the church built by their father to spend long
hours in prayer.
It was early in the morning ,no one in the house had risen,
when Sophie heard a soft voice in her sleep saying to her, “
My peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” It filled her with a
deep sense of joy for the days afterwards.
The Death of Sophie’s father snapped the strongest bond that
held the happy family together. Meanwhile Sophie met a dashing
young naval officer and soon they were engaged to get married.
Sophie continued praying in the church for longer hours now. It
was then when she realized that she was meant to serve the
mankind because serving selflessly to the mankind, is
worshipping god. Therefore she decided to break her marriage
and wrote a letter to her fiancé informing him about her desires
of becoming a nun.
When Sophie and her sister, Marianne decided to dedicate their
lives to God, they began to visit the Catholic Cathedral and
joined a sewing circle which was conducted by a catholic
lady. There they met Father Guiliani who helped them meet father
Seagrave . Under his directions they continued their search for
the truth .
Meanwhile when Henry, Sophie’s elder brother was ill in
Euboea, and her mother had to go to nurse him , Divine
Providence opened a new road for them. They were sent
as boarders to the Convent of Sisters of St.Joseph of
the Apparition.
The attraction Sophie and Marianne had felt towards the
religious life now deepened in the atmosphere of the
convent. On 19th of March, 1851, Sophie and Marianne
were received as postulants in the Convent of Syros.
On the feast of Exaltation of the cross, Sophie and Marianne
were given the religious dress of the Congregation.
Sophie and Marianne now desired to become nuns.
Sophie was now called Sister Veronica.
Sister Veronica was asked to found a house of the
Congregation at Calicut, India on the Malabar Coast.
She submitted gladly to this urgent call of the missions,
where souls were awaiting her.
After weeks of sailing , they reached Calicut.
Getting out of the boat, Sister Veronica knelt and kissed
the soil of the land she had come to serve, the land
evangelized by St. Thomas and St. Francis Xavier.
The Convent and school of St. Joseph’s at Calicut
progressed rapidly under the guidance of Mother Veronica as
she was now called. She was fond of children and God’s
blessings rested on her labours.
Mother Veronica felt an inner call for Carmel. Father
Marie Ephrem suggested that Mother Veronica should
begin a Carmel for the Missions.
Mother Veronica who served the poor and needy in
Rangoon left for London for her treatment after breaking
her ankle when she slipped and fell.
After her treatment ,Mother Veronica joined
Carmel at Pau.
Soon Mother Veronica set out to Found the
Apostolic Carmel Congregation.
The Apostolic Carmel was founded at Bayonne
on 16th
of July 1868.
Mother Veronica sent 3 of her sisters along with six cloistered
Carmelites including Mother Elias , Sister Marie des Agnes,
and Sister Mary of St. Joseph to found the Apostolic Carmel
in India.
The Apostolic Carmel was founded at St. Ann’s
Convent in Mangalore on 19th November 1870.
The St. Ann’s came to shelter three communities
the Cloistered Carmelites, the Apostolic Carmelites and
the Carmelite Tertiaries.
Mother Veronica returned to Carmel to Pau.
In May 1891, Mother Veronica met Mother Elias who gave her
the joyous news of the success of the Apostolic Carmel in India
and the compilation and the publication of the journal “ Carmel
in India”.
Mother Veronica died on 16th November, 1906
at the age of 83.