The Sisters of St. Martha’s Congregation was founded on 11 March 1958 in the Mulamattom parish of the Eparchy of Palai. The then Bishop of Palai, Mar Sebastian Vayalil, together with Fr. Mathew Joseph Kalappurackal, established this congregation. Today the congregation has 245 sisters. There are 45 branch houses across the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab, and also in Germany and Italy, along with four main apostolic ministries. The charism of the congregation is rooted in the Gospel verse, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mt 20:28). The mission of the community is to become all things for God and for everyone, especially for poor women and children, through humble and simple services in Jesus and with Jesus. “Greatness in Service” is the motto of the congregation. The spiritual source of the Sisters of St. Martha’s Congregation is St. Martha of Bethany.

The members of the congregation are committed to harmoniously combining prayer and work, to sustaining a spirit of prayer even in the midst of activities by maintaining constant communion with God, to leading a hardworking and simple life, to upholding a spirit of service always and everywhere, to finding joy in rendering humble services, and to being available for the apostolate of the local Church. The various apostolic fields in which the sisters are engaged include nursery schools, day-care centres, tailoring centres, children’s homes, hostels for girls, dispensaries, healthcare ministry, pastoral ministry, educational apostolate, evangelization, counselling, women’s empowerment, family apostolate and social welfare activities. The Sisters of St. Martha’s Congregation was elevated as an Eparchial Congregation on 2 February 1998 and raised to the status of a Major Archiepiscopal Congregation on 2 February 2020.