The Catholic Church in India will have its first woman saint on October 12 when Pope Benedict XVI canonises Sister Alphonsa of Kottayam, Kerala, 62 years after she died.Till now, all eyes had been on Mother Teresa’s sainthood process. Sister Alphonsa’s name came up suddenly in March this year. It was then realised that the Kerala nun had been in line for sainthood long before Mother Teresa died in 1997.
The sainthood will be announced at a ceremony at the Vatican for which preparations are on in full swing.
The mortal remains of the Catholic nun were taken to the Vatican in two small packages on Wednesday by the mother general of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, to which Sister Alphonsa belonged.
The Pope will place one of the packages in an enclosure in St Peter’s Basilica where the remains of holy Catholics are preserved. The second one will be kept in the court which bears her name as a saint. A portrait of the nun, which will be unveiled by the Pope at the ceremony, has also been taken to the Vatican.
‘‘It’s a matter of great joy for the Indian Christian community that one of its believers is being canonised,” Delhi Catholic Archdiocese spokesperson Rev Dominic Emmanuel said. “The Christian community here is excited... we believe there is one more saint in heaven for India to pray to.’’
Sister Maryamma, 91, who spent nine years with Sister Alphonsa in the convent, still remembers her first meeting with her. She says she was asked to sing a song. Sister Alphonsa approached her and offered to sing along. ‘‘She said let’s sing together and we sang together,’’ said Maryamma.
Born Anna Muttathupadathu in 1910 in Kudamaloor, near Kottayam, Sister Alphonsa lost her mother at an early age and was brought up by her maternal aunt. The family wanted to marry young Anna off, but she was keen on following the religious path. She assumed the name, Alphonsa, after joining the Franciscan Clarist convent in Bharananganam in 1927.
Sister Alphonsa died when she was 36 after a prolonged illness and a life of immense suffering. She had accidentally stepped on burning embers and badly burnt her feet and legs up to her knees. But the incident also earned her a reprieve from the marriage. After joining the convent, she had bouts of haemorrhage, malaria, pneumonia and even tuberculosis and was mostly confined to bed.
Her beatification was ordained by Pope John Paul II in February 1986. In June 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorized her canonization after he approved a miracle attributed to her.
After lengthy deliberations, the Vatican identified the healing of a one-year-old boy in Kerala, Jinil, who could not walk because of a congenital disability.
Jinil began walking the day his parents took him to Sister Alphonsa’s tomb for prayers.
Sister Alphonsa will be the second Christian saint from India after Gonsalo Garcia and the first woman.
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(Source: TOI)