A Catholic woman from eastern India who initially left home to work in a convent kitchen has credited that experience with helping her discover a vocation to religious life.
Sr. Chandrika Pradhan, a member of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC), made her final profession on May 25 in Kerala, southern India, together with 56 other sisters. A thanksgiving Mass was held in her native village of Somagota in Kandhamal District, Odisha State, on June 13, drawing hundreds of parishioners and well-wishers.
Born on November 16, 1995, to Joseph and Salmina Pradhan, Sr. Chandrika is the youngest of three children. She belongs to Somagota, a Catholic village in Our Lady of Charity Parish, Raikia, in Kandhamal District, which is part of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in eastern India.
After completing Grade 10 in 2013, she traveled with another young woman from her area to Angamaly in Ernakulam District, Kerala, to assist in kitchen work at a convent.
Sr. Chandrika said her encounter with the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel helped her discern a call to religious life.
“Mother Jeya Rose of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel encouraged me, and I gradually discovered my vocation to religious life. I am grateful to God for this precious call,” she said.
She made her first profession in 2019 before taking her final vows this year.
The thanksgiving Mass in Somagota was presided over by Fr. Michael Behera, who reflected on Sr. Chandrika’s vocational journey.
“Nothing is impossible for God. He can transform ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. Chandrika first went to Kerala to assist in cooking, but God called her to dedicate her life to serving His people through religious life,” Fr. Behera said.
He noted that acts of service often become pathways through which individuals discover their vocation.
Sr. Chandrika’s father, Joseph Pradhan, said his daughter’s involvement in prayer and parish activities deepened her desire to serve the Church.
“As she became more active in parish life and prayer, she felt a growing desire to dedicate her life to God. Through daily Mass, personal prayer, and the encouragement of religious sisters, she discerned her vocation,” he said.
He added that the experience of serving others helped cultivate values such as patience, humility, generosity, and love, which contributed to her decision to enter religious life.
The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel, founded on February 13, 1866, in Koonammavu near Kochi, Kerala, by St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Italian Carmelite missionary Fr. Leopold Beccaro, was the first indigenous religious congregation for women in the Syro-Malabar Church.
Today, the congregation has approximately 6,000 sisters serving in education, healthcare, social work, pastoral ministry, and other apostolic activities across 19 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania.
In Odisha, the congregation maintains communities in Balasore and Muniguda.
Sr. Chandrika is currently serving in Meghalaya, a northeastern Indian state known for its significant Christian population.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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