Congratulations CJM Sialkot ...
167 years and going strong!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Sialkot was the first Catholic school in the Punjab and second in British India after Agra. It was established in 1856 opened at the request of the Archbishop of Agra. It was established by five nuns headed by Mother St. Gonzaga Bergonhoux
In December 1855 five Sisters left Sardanha for Sialkot, via Lahore, accompanied by the good Archbishop himself. Mother St. Gonzaga Bergonhoux was named superior. Accompanying her were Mother St. Chrysostom Gubbins, Mother St. Macaire Dervieux, Mary St. Patrick O’Sullivan and Mary St. Veronica Reghilini. It was a long, wearisome and dangerous journey from Sardanha to Sialkot in those days, but the zeal of the tiny Congregation was not to be daunted by dusty roads and difficult journeys. The bullock-cart had rough wooden wheels and no springs, and it broke down frequently on the bad roads, a route of about 329 miles (529 km).
The party of Sisters and the Archbishop finally arrived in Sialkot on February 15, 1856. The first community consisted of 5 nuns and 3 possible postulants. Thus was begun the first Convent of Jesus and Mary in Punjab.
