Saint Anne and her husband Saint Joachim were the parents of Mary, and the maternal grandparents of Jesus. St. Anne is considered the patroness of spinsters, housewives, mothers, grandmothers, and educators. Fr. Wilhelm Meyer founded the Society of St. Anne in November 1909 in Luzern, Switzerland- a society wherein its members would devote their lives to maternity welfare, given the high mortality figures of young mothers and children at that time in Switzerland.
Once the Society was established, Fr. Meyer also had a vocation to continue this work in India. But a terminal illness meant he could not put his plans into action, and so he handed them over to co-foundress Mother Emilie Dorman before he passed away. A trained nurse, she oversaw the professional and religious formation of the Swiss pioneer sisters to India. In the year 1927, four Swiss pioneer sisters braved the rough seas and crossed over to Indian soil, to commence the work of the Society of St. Ann.
While the Society of St. Ann in Vijayawada was established for the care of mothers and their young children, it has since then expanded into various establishments, hospitals, schools, institutions, and homes offering hope to multitudes in India beyond what was envisioned.
Today the committed Sisters of
St. Ann Luzern (SAL) Vijayawada Province – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra involved in social ministry undertake various tasks with far reaching results. The Sisters in charge of the centres are given the responsibility to ensure that the vision of the Society of St. Anne which started a more than century years ago continues to be fulfilled.
