On 24^th November 1889, Cochin, presently known as Fort Kochi welcomed the first Canossian Missionaries in India. The Canossians came to India in search of the lost and the lonely, the marginalized and the down trodden, the uneducated and the illiterate. They came particularly for poor women and children. The Canossian Missionaries established St. Mary’s AIGHS, Fort Cochin, in the year 1889. At present the school including the nursery caters to almost 2000 girls irrespective of caste or creed. In the recent past Higher Secondary School was started in a separate campus at Amaravathy, just two km. away from St. Mary’s, which is still struggling to overcome the ailments and problems connected with infancy and growth. The Social Service Centre or the Home Centre as locals know it, which is a production cum training center, was started in 1963 where about 35 girls are trained in tailoring, embroidery, and in the production of candles and tablemats. The Canossian presence is widely felt in Fort Kochi mainly through education, pastoral work and youth ministry.