Mother Aloysia AC

Mother Aloysia  AC (Apostolic Carmel) was the founder of St Agnes College at Mangalore, which was the first women’s college on the west coast of India, the first Catholic women’s college in the country, and the first women’s college in the region in 1921. She was popularly known as Mother Aloysia A.C. of the Sacred Heart, or Mother Mary Aloysia of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation.

Mary Pia Rosario was born on 30th September 1855 at Mangalore. Lazarus Salvador Rosario and Rita Pacheco were her parents. She had her early education at Mangalore and later on at Cannanore. An accomplished student, she took up leadership to lead classes at the very young age of fourteen, it is said. A congregation presently known as the Apostolic Carmel, which was founded at Bayonne in France, had extended its activity to Mangalore during the period, and Mary Pia Rosario joined it in 1873. Soon, Mary Pia was given the name Sister Mary Aloysia.

St Ann’s school had been started by the Congregation soon after they arrived, and in the year 1880, Sister Mary Aloysia was appointed the headmistress.  Between 1884 and 1888, the school was raised to the status of a High School, with Government recognition. Thus, St Ann’s High School became the first Girls’ High School in Mangalore and erstwhile South Kanara. In 1890, the St Ann’s Training School was formally opened, at the Government's repeated requests. In 1910, Sister Aloysia assumed the office of Superior General of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, and St. Ann’s Institutions entered a new epoch in the sphere of education. All the Apostolic Carmel schools underwent a thorough renewal with an extension of grounds and buildings. She also built and renovated many schools during the period. There were repeated requests made to her from various quarters to start schools. As a result, she rose to the occasion and started schools in the Malabar region, Sri Lanka, and Ahmedabad.  However,  her important work was the foundation of St Agnes First Grade College for Women at Bendore in 1921. It is one of the pioneering colleges for women in India. She was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal of the I Class by the British Government in 1929 for her educational achievements.  She passed away in 1939.

*Collected from the public domain

*Updated on 26/05/2025