Rt. Rev. Bishop Fortunatus Henri Caumont OFM. Cap.
Fortunatus Henri Caumont was born in Tours, France on 10th December,1871. He joined the Franciscan Capuchins on 16th August, 1896 and came to Rajputana (Rajasthan) to serve God as a missionary. He was appointed Prefect Apostolic on 7th January,1903. In 1913, he was appointed and consecrated as the first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Ajmer, Rajputana.
Right from the start, he set about the task of establishing his mission on a firm foundation. He had a sharp intelligent mind and was a man of vision. He was in every sense a prophet. Though he dealt with the present, he looked ahead to the future. Convinced of the Lord’s will for Rajputana, he launched upon the work of Education - formal and non-formal, in rural and urban areas of the Diocese. He also set about opening welfare centers for the medical care of the people. The orphans, especially those after the famine, were his special concern.
He felt the great need of starting a Congregation of Sisters for Evangelization and to educate the girl children and women - folk of Rajasthan. On 8th, January 1911, he put the whole case before his Council and proposed the founding of the new Congregation. He went to Rome, met Pope Pius X and consulted him. The Holy Father gave him full permission to go ahead with the Congregation known as the Mission Sisters of Ajmer. He started the Congregation of the Mission Sisters of Ajmer on 26th, April 1911. His own sister, Mother Mary Matilda SMA became the Co- Foundress of the Congregation.
He gave us the MSA, the motto – “In this sign you shall conquer”. The Charism he gave us, is “An intense participation in the Redeeming Mission of Christ”. He exhorted us the Mission Sisters saying, “A Mission Sister should necessarily be imbued with the missionary spirit. Deep down in your heart I know there is one fervent ambition, namely to help and lift higher in this country that Name that is above every name and manifest more plainly the Cross which is to draw all men into the light of truth and distribute among them the unsearchable richness of Christ.”
Being a Spirit-filled Evangelizer and a far-sighted person, he opened a Catechist training school in order to prepare people for the work of Evangelization. He opened many mission stations, as this saintly Bishop knew that only through prayer and sacrifice the spread of Christ’s kingdom could be achieved in the vast area of Rajputana. Being led by the Holy Spirit and with a deep experience of God he could win many souls for Christ and have them as his friends. He said, that a missionary spirit primarily and above all, needs a spirit of prayer. “My child, if you wish to work for Christ, then live with Him in communion with Him.”
