MISSIONARIES OF MARY MEDIATRIX
INDIAN PROVINCE
Founders
Rosario Fernandez Pereira- Mother Foundress(1908 to 1992)
Mother Rosario Fernandez Pereira, Foundress of Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix was deeply religious and highly intellectual. She was Spanish, the daughter of Celestino Fernandez and Dolores Pereira. Born on 1, May1908, she received Maria de los Dolores as baptismal name. A life of prayer and renunciation culminated in the dedication of her whole self to the education of youth in the Congregation of the Dominican cloistered sisters. On 20, June1929, she did her first profession, receiving the name as Rosario Fernandez Pereira.
A woman of profound faith, charismatic and daring, she had greater love for the Virgin Mary in her function as a ‘Mediatrix’. Her entpreneurial spirit led her to ‘be constantly searching’, intensely experiencing, with tenacity and loyalty, everything that she believed in and loved. She was highly sensitive to the signs of the time and had a great vision of the future. She constantly encouraged the members of her community to be like the first Christian community, with a single soul, living as sisters to spread the gospel. Feeling ill and weak, she asked her confessor, Fr. Esteban Gonzalez Vigil, the Provincial of the Dominicans to carry her work forward, as she felt close to death. The Father promised to help her if the Lord saved her life. She had a miraculous healing on 11th April 1940 and immediately set about founding Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix, always with Fr. Vigil’s help. Thus Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix came in to existence in 1942.
On June 28 1992, God called her to Himself, to reward her for her life of love, labour and sacrifice.
Fr. Esteban Gonzalez Vigil OP - Co-founder (1888 to 1977)
Fr. Esteban Gonzalez Vigil envisioned and co-founded the Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix. He was born in a traditional Christian family on 15, May 1888. He joined the Order of Preachers in 1903 and took the Dominican vows and was ordained on 1, June 1912. Later he became the Provincial Superior of Dominican fathers. A far-sighted man indeed! He was a great human and spiritual support for all the missionaries. Under the guidance of Fr. Esteban Gonzalez Vigil Mother Rosario Fernandez Pereira founded the Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix in 1942. Fr. Esteban Gonzalez Vigil assisted Mother Rosario immeasurably to bring up the young Congregation as a full-fledged Congregation till his death. He supported and guided the foundation, with his core values of fraternal charity, patience and humility. He was a man of wisdom, deep prayer life, rich spirituality and had a great devotion to Mother Mary. He, with these virtues nurtured the Congregation. His work went on apace till death overtook him on June 27, 1977 and brought to an end a career full of plans carried out and plans for the future.
