Our Sacred Story
The FIHM Congregation, formally known as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Indigenous Women, is one of the earliest and most transformative religious orders founded for the education and empowerment of women in India.
Established on 16th October 1844 in Pondicherry by Rev. Fr. Louis Savinien Dupuis, M.E.P., a French missionary and education reformer, the FIHM Congregation emerged in direct response to the urgent social inequalities faced by women in 19th-century Tamil Nadu.
At a time when women were systematically denied education, dignity, and civic participation, Fr. Dupuis recognized that educating girls would be the most effective way to transform family life and elevate entire communities.