Born into a Christian family, I grew up as an active participant in parish life. After I graduated from college I went to Bangalore and spent the next five years studying administration and finances until I married Ann Mary in 1997. I came to know the Order when my wife was invited to apply for the position of Principal of the Order’s Nursing College at Kattappana. There could also be a position for me in the financial administration of the Brothers’ Kattappana hospital. My wife and I first experienced the Hospitality that is the mark of the Order when we went to Kattappana for our job interviews. Arriving at Kumily we were met by two Brothers. To our surprise we learned that one of them was the Director of the Hospital. For us this was unbelievable – that the director of such big institution would drive kilometers to welcome candidates for an interview – and then chauffer them to the hospital!

It really expressed hospitality and we started learning from there. After seeing for ourselves the friendly and hospitable atmosphere of the hospital we had lunch in the Brothers’ refectory. The holy Brother Fortunatus himself served us some fruits. He then packed some bananas for us to eat during our return journey home. This kind of hospitality inspired us to take the risk of leaving our jobs In Bangalore and join the Brothers as Co-workers. In the ensuing years we have been privileged to enter fully into the expression of that Hospitality.