The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives Forever' ( John 2:17)

The origin of the Society of St. Anne – Phirangipuram can be traced back to 19th century in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded by Thatipatri Gnanamma, a lay woman, who hailed from Phirangipuram, a small village in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. She was given in marriage to Innaiah, the catechist of Phirangipuram. The pious couple was blessed with five sons. Unfortunately she became a widow at the young age of 37. Left all alone with five boys to bring up, she put her entire trust in the Divine Providence and raised her children strong in the basics of the Christian faith. Four of her sons joined the religious life and one settled down in family life. Freed from all family commitments, Gnanamma moved to a village called Kilacheri, forty kilometres from Chennai and settled down at that place. The infinite wisdom of God led her step to Kilacheri, the cradle, the very Bethlehem of the new Congregation.

During her time, the education of young girls was an impossible dream. Gnanamma kept constantly in touch with the illiterate girls in the locality and identified education as a principal means of empowering them. Fr. Arokianathar, the parish priest of Kilacheri , helped her to reflect concretely and go ahead with founding a school for girls in Kilacheri. For this vision to materialize, she started a school exclusively for girls in 1863. Inspired by her committed service to the cause of women, two young girls requested mother Gnanamma to let them help her in the wonderful cause in the capacity of nuns.  Accepting their request, she sent them to be formed at St. Ann’s Novitiate of the Good Shepherd Congregation in Bellary. After their initial formation, these two young girls, became sisters in 1874 and thus a religious Congregation with a specific vision for the betterment of women known as Society of the Sisters of St. Anne was born. The Congregation was founded out of the pressing need for empowering women through education. Therefore, it was the mission that demanded the formation of our Congregation.

The Congregation received pontifical status on 13th May, 1999 by Pope John Paul II. the Congregation was divided into two administrative regional units with separate headquarters in Phirangipuram and Hyderabad. The two regions were elevated to the status of Provinces in 2008.

The main apostolate of the Congregation is education and evangelization. It has also expanded into other fields like medical and social work to meet the needs of the underprivileged. We have opened Health Centres, homes for children, widows, handicapped and aged, as well as social work centres in remote villages and tribal areas to work for their liberation.

To actualize the dream of Our Foundress, we have started colleges even in remote villages with the sole aim of providing higher education for girls, especially the sublaterns. The journey began by Mother Gnanamma in 1874 with just two young professed sisters has expanded manifold, and we continue to engage in ministries that affirm the original spirit of our Foundress. Today, we are a band of willing hands, committed minds and compassionate hearts engaged in a journey of religious fervour with a committed mission towards a just and equal society.