History:
The Congregation of the Little Sisters of ST. Therese was founded by Rt. Rev. Bishop Dominic Kokkat CST the first Bishop of Gorakhpur on 30th of September 1988 as a pious union and later in 2006 it was erected as a Congregation of Eparchial right.
The situation of the diocese when he took over as a Bishop revealed the urgent need for a team of committed sisters to work among the rural poor. There are millions of people in the rural areas of the diocese who are poor, illiterate and victims of many diseases besides superstition. As an ardent devotee of St. Therese of Lisieux , Bishop Mar Dominic Kokkat felt that a congregation of sisters who would follow Jesus in the footsteps of St. Therese could be effective in carrying out missionary task in North India.
The Spirit and Charism of this community derive from the teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux. This community is to embody in its individual and in community life, the spirit and attitude of St. Therese. The charism could be summarized as “To love Jesus as St. Therese loved and love the poor as Jesus did.” Besides imitating St Therese in their spiritual life. This community’s main aim is to work among the rural poor for their spiritual enlightenment, social and economic development and health care. The congregation has by now spread into different parts of India and overseas with 23 Communities altogether rendering their services in different apostolates. Three of these communities are situated in two diocese of Germany and others are in the nine diocese of India.