“One of the primary struggles will be to remain rooted in interior life”.

Father Michael, on May 17, 2026, the Dehonians in India have officially celebrated their transition to the status of a Region. How did the local Confreres welcome and experience this event?

We experienced this moment not simply as an institutional step, but as a kairos of grace, a visitation of the Heart of Jesus among us. In the spirit of Ecce Venio, we felt anew that the Lord is inviting us to offer ourselves more readily, realistically, responsibly and radically in oblation. (…) It was deeply moving to see how the celebration fostered fraternal communion: truly a moment of Sint Unum. We sensed that the Lord is entrusting us with a greater participation in His mission, so that, through our lives as Dehonians in Indian Region, the Reign of the Heart of Jesus may grow in souls and in society as willed by our Founding Father Venerable Leo John Dehon.

Within what context does this transition from District to Region take place, and what factors contributed to making it possible?

This transition is born within a journey of grace marked by faithfulness to the Dehonian charism and attentive listening to the signs of the times. It is not merely the fruit of organizational growth, but of a spiritual path rooted in the contemplative gaze of the pierced Heart of Christ. Over the past 32 years, we have tried, often in fragility, to live what Father Dehon desired: to be prophets of love and servants of reconciliation, especially where the wounds of humanity cry out most urgently.

The growth in vocations, the expansion of ministries, responsible commitment of the confreres and the strengthening of formation are visible signs. But more importantly, what made this step possible is a growing desire among the confreres to live a life of oblation and reparation, in union with Christ who says, “Behold, I come to do your will” (Heb 10:7) with Interior Freedom with Intentional Responsibility.

In the light of the Dehonian Jubilee (2024–2028), this transition also resonates with the call of our Superior General to recenter everything on the Merciful and Compassionate Heart of Jesus, rediscovering our spiritual identity as men available to the Church and the world, especially in moments of urgency and need.

32 years after its opening in India, SCJ India, as you just said, has experienced significant growth in terms of membership, communities, and ministries. Could you share some of these statistics with us?

Today, the Indian Region is composed of 111 confreres in total:

• 85 priests
• 21 scholastics in formation
• 1 Brothers in Final Vows
• 4 Deacons
• 21 communities
• Besides this, 8 Priests who have changed their membership to other entities as missionaries.

Yet, beyond numbers, what consoles our hearts is the quality of the pilgrim journey: young men who generously respond to the call of Ecce Venio, communities striving to live fraternity as Sint Unum, and ministries that seek to embody Adveniat Regnum Tuum in concrete realities: Formation Apostolates, Pastoral Apostolates, Educational Apostolates, Spiritual Apostolates and Social Apostolates. We see especially a growing sensitivity towards the poorest of the poor, the marginalised, the rural women, the youth, the underprivileged children and those wounded in dignity i.e.places where the Heart of Christ continues to be pierced today.

What will be the future struggles or challenges for the Indian Region, now that you have become a bit more autonomous?

Every grace carries within it a responsibility. The passage from the District to Region invites us into a deeper fidelity, but also exposes us to new challenges. One of the primary struggles will be to remain rooted in interior life, so that our activism does not overshadow our Dehonian identity as Contemplatives in Action. Without a living union with the Heart of Christ, our mission risks losing its soul.

Formation remains a central challenge: to form confreres who are not only capable but also men of communion, reparation, reconciliation, wounded healers and compassionate presence. In a society marked by fragmentation, individualism, and rapid change, we are called to witness Sint Unum in a prophetic way with a creative fidelity.

We also face the challenge of inculturation i.e.how to express the richness of the Dehonian charism in the diverse cultural realities of India without losing its evangelical and spiritual depth.

Financial self-sufficiency is one of the major challenges of our Region. We have the sufficient human resources but our real difficulty is with the economical resources to sustain ourselves, our communities, and our mission. We are ever grateful to the generosity of those entities who support us from the very beginning of our foundation and also to those entities who render their fraternal support and or fulfilling our needs whenever we appeal to them. On our part, we do our utmost best to find resources through our ministries (teaching, preaching, religious article shop, tailoring & host-making centre etc). We still need to invest more to have solid financial resources for the future of the Region and its mission. 

Finally, as our Superior General often reminds us, we must learn to read the cries of today’s world, the suffering of the poor, the anxieties of youth, the wounds of injustice and respond with creative fidelity, as Father Dehon did in his time and thus to make our Founding Father relevant in our own times. 

Do you already cherish the dream of becoming a Province?

The dream of becoming a Province is present, but we hold it in the spirit of abandonment and discernment. For us, it is not primarily a question of status, but of fidelity to the call we have received as Dehonians. If we truly live the spirit of Ecce Venio and Ecce Ancilla, if our communities become authentic spaces of Sint Unum, and if our mission continues to proclaim Adveniat Regnum Tuum, then the future will unfold according to God’s Design and Lord’s Reign. Our deepest desire is to become ever more a living offering, a fragrant sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord, and a humble presence through which the Heart of Jesus may continue to reign, repair, revive, reconcile, renew, and recommit to this ever transforming world. And becoming a SCJ Indian Province might facilitate this desire in a meaningful manner.