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ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPUCHIN ORDER IN INDIA- II 511 facilitated by a greater use being made of chapattis [thinly flattened cake of coarse unleavened bread] instead of the common leavened bread" 28 • 2. Concretization of "Novitiate of Sardhana" (1922) It was on 16 February 1922 that the General constituted canonically the Friary of Sardhana as the House of Novitiate, after he was in receipt of the long-awaited rescript from the Propaganda Fide 29 • As there were some postulants already groomed, he personally inaugurated the Novitiate on 26 February 1922. Archbishop Bernacchioni blessed the House and celebrated the Holy Mass, and the General presided over the vestiture of two young men with the religious habit 30 • Since the other postulants did .not have all the requisite papers, they could not be inducted into the Novitiate on this occasion. All spoke approvingly of the ambience at Sardhana and qualified it as one appropriate for the Novitiate 31 • Fr John Capistran of Antwerp (Prov. Belgium) and Fr Louis of Seggiano (Prov. Tuscany) were nominated Master and Vice Master respectively. The other members of the Fraternity were: Frs Cyril of Chatillon (Prov. Paris), Arsenius of Sant'Agata Feltria (Prov. Bologna) and Albert of Borgo San Lorenzo (Prov. Tuscany). The General made an open-handed contribution of Rs 6,000 28 C£ AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato eStud.to: "The Franciscan Capuchin Novitiate to bees– tablished at Sardhana". 29 AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato eStud.to, the letter of appointment of the Commissary, dated 17 February 1922 reads: "Vigore facultatum per antecedens apostolicum Rescriptum Nobis benigne tributarum, Novitiatum Ordinis nostri Fr. Minorum Capuccinorum in loco Sardhanae erigimus et canonice erectum declaramus". 30 The General spoke prophetically of the glorious future that awaited the nascent institu– tion. AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato eStud.to: "Dies vigesima sexta Februarii vertentis anni 1922 in Annalium Ordinis nostri paginis aureo atramento aureoque calamo inscribenda erit; etenim in regione hac vastissima, fere per totum adhuc sedente in tenebris et umbra morris, novum Novitiatum instituere potuimus". 31 AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato eStud.to, Fr General to Fr General Procurator, Agra 28 Feb– ruary 1922: "... si e dovuto limitare ad un numero cosi ristretto la prima vestizione, perche altri giovani, che stavano attendendo di essere essi pure vestiti, non avevano le carte in regola, o, a dir meglio, non avevano fatti i documenti necessari, che non erano stati ben diretti nel far fare le loro carte... ma del resto, avuto riguardo a questi luoghi, e spazioso ed ha molte commodita. Ha un bell'orto ed e cinto da mura. La chiesa e splendida e non puo essere meglio di cosi".

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