Moonnilavu was started as a branch of the Vakakkad convent in 1950. The small children of this area had to cross a wide stream to reach Vakakkad school for their primary schooling, which was not at all safe. So the Vakakkad Vicar Rev. Fr. Cyriac Muthukattil took the initiative and shifted  the 1st and the 2nd standards  of the Vakakkad school to  a temporary shed in Valiyakumaramangalam. The sisters from the Vakakkad convent had to travel up and down daily to this makeshift school, which was troublesome for them too. So a very generous Sri Kunjouseph Muthalakuzhyyil let the sisters stay in his house. The sisters started living there on 1st November 1950.
A new convent was built and blessed on 2nd February 1953. A new chapel was built and presented  to the convent by  Sri Kunjouseph Muthalakuzhyyil in 1954.