MEDIA

In the field of media of Communication: It was also Blessed Chavara who founded the first printing press. This event also took place in Mannanam in the year 1846. It was the first printing press in the Syro-Malabar Church. It was from this press, the Deepika, the first Newspaper of Kerala and the first of its kind from the Indian Church, started its publication in the year 1887. Today, the CMIs run 11 printing presses and 13 publications.

Our founder Blessed Chavara launched in to the media of communication by starting the first catholic press of Kerala in 1846. This made a revolutionary change to the social, cultural and intellectual life of the people. The first catholic daily of Kerala, the Deepika, was started at Mannanam in 1887. Similarly the first social, spiritual and family monthly of Kerala, Karmelakusumam (the Flower of Carmel) is also published from Mannanam since 1903. Now a number of publications are owned by the congregation. CMIs are pioneers to start cultural centers of catholic leadership in different area of Kerala and elsewhere in India. CMIs own 36 institutions in the cultural and media apostolate. 

Nazarani Deepika

Here it is worth mentioning about the developmental history of Deepika and Deepika Childrens League, as they took an important role in guiding the society for more than a century. In 1886 Fr. Mani Nidhiri along with some members of the Jathiaikyasangam and other leading members of the Syro-Malabar Church, like Kurian Master Pulickaparambil, Fr. Alexander Kattakayam CMI (Sr)etc. met and discussed the starting of a newspaper for the Oriental Churches in Kerala. These few members in the beginning of 1887 met Bishop Marceline Berardi OCD, who had recently been appointed with exclusive charge over the Syro-Malabar Church. Bishop Marceline positively responded to the proposal under certain conditions, namely, that this paper should be published from Mannanam, that the profit out of this should go to the Mannanam Monastery, as also the loss incurred in the matter should be met by the Mannanam Monastery itself. Though Fr. Kattakayam, the then prior of Mannanam, did not agree at the first instance to taking up this financial responsibility, later, encouraged by Fr. Kuriakose Eliseus Porukara, accepted the responsibility. Fr. Nidhiri and Sri Kurian Master agreed to be the editors. Fr. Gerard Kannampally CMI, the author of Alankara Sasthram, who was the manager of St. Ephrem’s School, and of St. Joseph Press Mannanam and also the librarian of the monastery, was given the charge of the managing editor. There was also the common agreement to name the journal Nazrani Deepika. Its first number came out on 15 April 1887. In 1939 at the initiative of Fr. Eugene Manjooran, the then prior of Mannanam the name of the paper was changed to Deepika and the office was shifted to Kottayam, the present site. In 1953 when the congregation was divided into three provinces St. Joseph Province took charge of the Deepika. After the bifurcation of the province in 1979 St. Joseph Province, Kottayam, took over the charge of publishing the Deepika. 

The Deepika Children’s League (DCL) The offshoot of Deepika is a non-political, non-sectarian organization of children, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, and language, with the objective of the integral formation of the children based on a five-fold conduct formula: love of God and love of brethren, service mind, punctuality and discipline. The motto of the League is We Are One Family.

Children’s League had its origin in 1952 from a special column in the week-end edition of the Deepika. In 1970 the membership crossed hundred thousand. Another event of great importance in 1970 was that His Excellency Sri V.V. Giri, the then President of India, became the patron of the League. From then on till today the Presidents of India continue to be the patrons of the League. By 2005, the membership of Deepika Children’s League has reached 10 lakhs. This is the largest children’s organization in the world.

In the history of the Church, so far no other religious congregation has run a daily newspaper. CMI congregation managed the Deepika daily and its other allied publications and institutions for more than one century. It always stood for the Catholic cause and for justice and peace. Since 1998, Deepika is owned by the Catholic Church of Kerala controlled by an apex body.