The Canossian Sisters arrived on the scene of Silver Street, St. Thomas Mount Road, Chennai in 1988, at the invitation of the then Bishop of Chennai-Mylapore Rt. Rev. Dr. Casimir Gnanadikkam. The sisters were invited with the expressed purpose of looking after the socio-pastoral needs of Infant Jesus Church, Guindy and to take care of the Infant Jesus Higher Secondary School and to transform the clay (children) into sapphire and the sand (youth) into opal and so on. Now both these ministries have been handed over to the community in Guindy, which was established later and faded away in the year 2018 due to multiple reasons.

At present the sisters are engaged in tailoring classes for women who when trained get employed in the big garment export companies in the city. Special coaching programmes are conducted in the evening for the poor children. Self-help Groups are also formed and guided by the sisters. The sisters run both Tamil and English Medium nursey schools. A Canossian sister is the Headmistress of the Marian Primary School and another sister is in charge of the pastoral work of St. Patrick’s Church. Medical care is given to the sick in the area and the involvement of the sisters in the lives of the people of the locality is much appreciated.