TESTIMONY 45

TESTIMONY 45

Name: Sr. Gabrielle Mary Therese of Jesus OCD, Gabrielle Marie Antoinette Thamby 

Date of Birth: 7 February 1913, Pondicherry 

Professed: 14 October 1932 

Died: 5 October 1985 

Address: Carmel Convent, Muthialpet Post, Pondicherry – 605 003, Tamil Nadu, India 

Relationship: Niece of Brother Joseph Thamby 

Date of Written Witness: 1983 – Interviewed by Fr. Adolf Kannadipara OFM Cap, Provincial Delegate.

I am hailing from a good and pious family at Pondicherry as my father got an appointment by the French Government the whole family went to Saigon. At the age of 7, I lost my mother and consequently my father took me and my three younger brothers to Pondicherry and left to the care of a very pious and devoted aunt. I had my education from the French sisters of St. Joseph de Cluny. Soon I perceived the call of God and wanted to consecrate myself wholly to him in the solitude of Carmel on 31 January 1931. When I was 18 years old, I entered the Carmel at Pondicherry. From the very beginning, I endeavored to become a good and faithful religious and as such I remained till my death. 

I am the niece of Brother Joseph Thamby, a Franciscan Third order member and hermit who attended my perpetual profession in 1932. His cause may be introduced at Rome due to the numerous benefits and graces people obtain at his tomb at Avutapally – Andhra Pradesh – where he died stigmatized. 

Brother Joseph Thamby was nearly 30 years older to me. I knew his family, his parents and his childhood quite well. Basing on direct contact with his family members, I can testify that Joseph Thamby was born on 11 November 1883, and in our family circle his birth day was celebrated on this date. He was the first of the two children in the noble and pious family of Joseph Savarimuthu Thamby and Mary Annamalle who hailed from Karaikal village in Pondicherry, which was a French colony. Joseph Thamby was born when his father was employed in Saigon, Vietnam, which was also a colony of France and the young couple was working there. Two years after the birth of Joseph Thamby, the parents returned to Pondicherry in view of educating the child. When he was five years old his younger brother Michael Dhayirian was born. After two years their mother Mary Annamalle died and within a short time their father Savarimuthu Thamby married Mary Theresa as second wife. 

Joseph Thamby grew up as a devout Christian child under their care and upbringing; at the age of 12, in 1895 he joined the group of children who were being prepared for the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation in their parish. But his step-mother disliked Joseph Thamby for her own strange reason and forbade him to receive the Sacraments. Further, she conveyed her objection to the parish priest. The parish priest, however, took courage and continued preparing the boy and in due course administered the Sacraments. Mary Therese the step-mother was infuriated by this and started persecuting Joseph. As a punishment, she even refused to give meals to him on several days. Due to the tension at home, and experiencing family life under the step-mother an unbearable suffering, Joseph stealthily left home, leaving his younger brother and the father. At that time he did not realize that the Lord was calling him to walk the narrow way of the cross by living the Gospel values. 

The young Joseph traveled southward far away from home in Pondicherry and reached Ernakulam in Kerala State. There by providential arrangement, a God-fearing and pious lady took care of him and arranged for his education till he was 25 years old. As Joseph learnt to read and write, and his reasoning capacity developed, he began the serious search for the meaning of his life. As he spent several years reflecting and praying, through the mercy of God he came to the realization that the Lord was calling him for a different life. So, he left that pious lady and wandered for some time praying at heart to the Lord to show him clearly the meaning for his life and the path he should pursue. 

He was a quiet type of person and had an extraordinary liking for silence and solitude. He was very humble in his demeanor and not dominating. It appeared to me that he had a strong bend to contemplative life. Indeed he did not live at home long enough to know the plans of his parents; it was the Lord God who guided him all through. He was staunch in his docility to the divine Spirit. 

He came to our monastery in Pondicherry to attend the function when I made my Religious Profession on 4th October 1932. He was wearing the habit of the Franciscan Tertiary. Meeting each other, we had quite long and very interesting conversation. When I asked him about the details of his life and activities, he told me that he had gone to Quilon in Kerala and became a Franciscan Tertiary and is now living as a hermit, engaged in evangelization. 

Many years later, I came to know that he had received the stigmata during his prayer on Fridays. After years of missionary works, in 1945 he died at Avutapally, Andhra Pradesh, and his body was buried there. I know for certain that due to the power of his intercession, lots of people go to visit his tomb and obtain numerous favors and graces. 

Sr. Gabrielle Mary Therese of Jesus OCD 

Gabrielle Marie Antoinette Thamby 

Carmel Convent, Muthialpet Post, Pondicherry – 605 003 

Tamilnadu, India