SCHOOL HISTORY

SCHOOL HISTORY

HISTORICAL LEGACY OF CARMEL SCHOOL, DHANBAD

Carmel School, Dhanbad, was established on January 9, 1956, by the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation. The foundation of the school was laid under the vision and guidance of Mother Violette A.C., the first Superior of Carmel School Digwadih, and Sister Terese A.C. They initiated the Primary Wing at Lindsay Club, Hirapur, in alignment with the suggestions of Father Sharpe, S.J., the Parish Priest of Dhanbad.

The school was later relocated to the Indian School of Mines under the dynamic leadership of Sister Leonora A.C., the first Principal. In April 1959, the foundation stone for the present school building was laid, making a, pivotal moment in the school’s development.

From its humble beginnings with just 30 students, Carmel School has grown to its current strength of over 2,300 girls, symbolizing decades of excellence and growth. Over the years, the school’s infrastructure has evolved significantly to meet the demands of modern education.

Key milestones in the School’s journey include:

  • 1969: Upgradation of infrastructure and the inauguration of the new High School Section.
  • 1970: Attainment of I.C.S.E affiliation, followed by I.S.C affiliation in 1993.
  • 1990: Construction of the +2 building, a major addition to the school’s academic facilities.
  • February 2011: Completion of the new Primary Block, further enhancing the learning environment.
  • Carmel School, Dhanbad, continues to be a beacon of education, nurturing young girls with a strong foundation of academic excellence, values, and holistic development.

A Brief History of the Apostolic Carmel

The Congregation of the Apostolic Carmel took birth at Bayonne, France in 1868, when Mother Veronica of the Passion, founded the Congregation. She did so, in response to the divine call, experienced by her through prayer and the growing realization of God’s all sufficing love, to serve the Christian community on the West Coast of India by giving a Christian education to the young girls of the region.

Mother Veronica’s life was full of trails and hardships. But her pioneering spirit, courage, dedication and complete faith in God’s love and help, and her divine vocation helped and strengthened her to undergo all hardship, to make her dream a reality.

The daughter of a Protestant Pastor, she embraced the Catholic faith which brought bitter opposition from her family. But her courage and faith in God were not shaken. In response to the call of God to lead the life of a religious, she broke off her engagement to a young sailor, to enter the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1851. When in prayer she experienced the call to Carmel, a congregation of cloistered sisters, she again made a difficult choice of leaving her Congregation to join the Carmel of Pau. Again it was terribly difficult for her to leave the peace and happiness of the cloister to set about the task of founding a new Carmelite Congregation for India.

The need for the Third Order was very urgent, because in those days education was meant only for boys in India which brought great dissatisfaction to the Indian women, who cried out for knowledge and the light of education. So God in his infinite wisdom chose Mother Veronica to realize this objective. Together with Father Marie Ephrem, a Carmelite who had come as a missionary to serve the Indians.

She founded the Congregation of the Apostolic Carmel in Bayonne, France. But God’s will for her was different. She was denied the privilege of coming to India as a sister of the Apostolic Carmel. The final decision to end her days in the anonymity and silence of Carmel was again made in response to God’s will. When the Apostolic Carmel was established in Mangalore she left the Congregation her spirit, the profound urge to do good and serve the masses through apostolic work.

The pioneering spirit made itself felt from time to time in the Congregation, when there was need for higher education for women of South Kanara, it was the Apostolic Carmel that started the first Women’s College in this region in 1921. The same need in Bihar was satisfied by the Starting of Patna Women’s College. The Apostolic Carmel extended its mission to Ceylon in 1922 and to North India in 1940. The work of the sisters has been mainly limited to the running of Schools, and Colleges though in various regions it has branched out into social work. Today there are over 180 institutions of the Congregation- Schools, Colleges and Orphanages. Mother Veronica’s work lives in the 1600 sisters who serve God and his people throughout India.

” We cannot change the world But we can make a difference “