St. Joseph's Home (Home for the Retired)

Our Vision

To share God’s Love with all in Dialogue towards Harmony.

Our Mission

We, the members of the St. Joseph’s Home, Indore, commit ourselves to be prophetic witnesses to the Reign of God by living a God-centered life through our personal and community prayers, liturgy and other spiritual activities.  We also help out in the Provincial Administration as well as lending our hands in the activities of the province. We offer ourselves to God in all our limitations, sufferings, sicknesses and grow in wisdom with positive attitudes towards living up the evangelical values.

The situation of St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan:

The St. Joseph’s Home is the institution of the Province established for the sick and retired confreres. The care and concern for the sick and retired confreres is one prime importance to the Provincial Council. The 2000 Provincial Chapter resolved that a separate community be formed for the retried and aged confreres at St. Joseph’s Home and that an annexure be built during the term of this administration with additional facilities to take care of the special needs of the sick and disabled at Arnold’s Seva Sadan campus. This resolution is still in the process of being executed. As on today, the St. Joseph’s Home has its own house council appointed, it has its own financial budget, it has its own corpus fund allocated, own time table approved, and it has been allotted land on the campus. All confreres who are not appointed to the St. Joseph’ Home and who attend liturgical services and join at means are guests to the St. Joseph Community. The expenses of all guests are being billed to the Provincial House Community.

The second part of the resolution of having an annexure be built during the term of this administration with additional facilities to take care of the special needs of the sick and disabled at Arnold’s Seva Sadan Campus is being carried out. In this annexure there are 4 special air-conditioned rooms under construction, which will be fully furnished with all that would be required including oxygen cylinders. It also includes a dispensary for an infirmarian. It is being prepared for those confreres under intensive medical care. This should be completed by March 2004. In addition to this the provincial council took the initiate to invite all confreres having reached the age of 60 years, 34 in number ere invited for a meeting on August 2, 2002 to suggest the implementation of these recommendations and resolutions and seek further suggestions. The meeting took place on August 2, 2002 and the following suggestions were received and resolved.

St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan has a total of 18 rooms, besides the common refectory, chapel, recreation room, open hall etc. out of the 18 rooms just a few rooms are free for our missionaries on visits the other rooms being occupied as offices, rooms for the St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan’s community members as well as retired/old and convalescing members. Hence often confreres coming from distant mission stations on visits or business cannot get accommodation here and have to be directed either to Palda or somewhere else, and we have more than 110 confreres in this province. The general feeling of the last Provincial Assembly as well as our Provincial Council is that the present building at the St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan should be kept as provincial office and accommodation for our visiting confreres and for meetings and a separate well equipped house should be built for our retired confreres.

The reasons for the proposal are as follows:

  1. A separate building for the retired confreres is a necessity as at present there is much confusion in the same building and our retired confreres who are here do not get peace and care they require. In the present set up we cannot provide adequate facilities and take care of their needs. A plan is being submitted for the home for the aged/retired confreres.
  2. The present building is rather large one with an open hall and with 18 rooms which would be useful for any meetings, confreres as well as residence for the visiting confreres/participants and missionaries.
  3. The Rooms in the preset building are such that they are not practical for the aged confreres unless the rooms are modified, specially the toilets and an elevator setup. This fact was noted by our Visitator Fr. Werle.
  4. A new building for the Provincial House would cost much more than a home for the retied confreres because the latter can be built in phases according to the needs. Initially we could go in for 2 floors with 8 rooms, with provision for a third floor of plans.

Two Rooms for our sick in the Nursing Home:

In the same line I wish to propose a plan for the care of our sick and those needing medical attention. There is a Nursing Home managed by SMA Sisters close by. You perhaps know that Br. Amabilis SVD was being taken care of in the nursing Home for the past four years. Recently the diocese and our Society thought of joint project example constructing four rooms adjacent to the Nursing Home jointly financed by the Society and the diocese so that the members of Society and the diocesan celery and even the other needy religious could be taken care of. I believe that it is worthwhile investment since we see that quite a few of our agin

g confreres need checkups and treatment occasionally. We are spending an average of Rs. 50000 per year on rent for rooms in the nursing home alone and the rooms may not be always at our disposal. The method of its working is though over already.

1982            A suggestion came from an individual confrere for the provincial chapter as agenda no. 602. It was decided by a vote of 20 against 8 and 1 abstention to build a house with adequate amenities for the sick and aged confreres on the grounds of St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan.  There was considerable discussion to have an adequately prepared home for the aged. The suitability of St. Arnold’s for this purpose was questioned and the final suggestion which was supported by 32 votes and 1 against was that a new well prepared home for the aged be built behind St. Arnold’s while St. Arnold’s be kept as the Provincial Office and guest house.

1982            Superior General in his letter dated on May 25, 1982 wrote the following: although we heartily support your concern for the aged, we are not convinced that building a house is the right step at least at the present time. We are under the impression that the number of those who would want to go and live in such a house is small. Moreover, we know of several places in the Society where such houses were built and then remained as white elephants because aging confreres preferred to spend their last years elsewhere than in a retirement home. We suggest that you give this matter further thought.  For the time being at least it seems to us that a few rooms reserved in the central house could serve your purpose.

1985  :          Provincial Chapter approved the proposed plan of building an old age home.

1986  :        The Generalate approved a single story building instead of proposed a two-story one. It was suggested by the General Council that beside the steps at the main entrance a ramp would also be built to allow easier access for confreres on wheel chairs. Convenient too might be a second entrance near the kitchen which should serve as so called service entrance. Some felt that a horseshoe design with a beautiful garden in between the two living room tracks should replace the proposed row-house design.

  1. To install an elevator at St. Joseph’s Home, which can accommodate a stretcher? This was completed and it was blessed on October 4, 2003.
  2. To install hot water in all the bathrooms with the solar rays system. This was completed in the month of January 2003.
  3. To install room coolers in all the living rooms. This was completed in July 2003.
  4. To install a bed switch/call bell in every room. This is pending to be done.
  5. To arrange for water harvesting system for the building. This was competed in May 2003.
  6. To purchase one ambulance. This could not be purchased. The cost for an ambulance was forwarded and passing in the budget 2002 by the Provincial Council. It was regretted that the General late turned down this request awarding Rs 0 to this project due to lack of funds. Nevertheless, the Province made arrangements for an n ambulance. The Provincial Council has allotted the Maruti Van from Godhra Community to the St. Joseph’s Home. For the internal fittings to fit in a stretcher and wheel chair, Fr. Rector, Damien Ekka and Br. John Menezes have been given this responsibility. The ambulance should be on the road by the beginning of December 2003.
  7. To install telephone connection in each of the living rooms of the St. Joseph’s Home. This has been completed and separated from the Provincial’s House.

1985 Provincial Chapter unanimously approved the plan of home for the aged and retired confreres. Since many years there have been proposals, suggestions and some efforts to provide suitable housing arrangement for our old and retired. Convalescing confreres, so that they could spend the eve of their life in peace and some comfort. This matter had been discussed in the last two provincial Chapters 1980 and 1982. In the chapter of 1982 there was a near unanimous suggestion with 32 votes for and 1 against, suggesting that a new well equipped home for the aged be built next to St. Arnold’s Seva Sadan while St Arnold’s Seva Sadan be kept as the Provincial Office and guest house.

The background for the discussion was that there was a definite need felt for a home for the aged/retired confreres. However, at that time some felt that a separate provincial office and small residential quarters be built and this present building be kept as home for the retired/aged confreres since that was the original purpose of this construction.

31/05/2010        In a simple ceremony additional rooms at St. Joseph’s Home were blessed by Most Rev. Chacko TJ SVD and inaugurated by Fr. Provincial, Nicholas Martis SVD