On October 12 this year, Sister Alphonsa will become the second Indian to be officially declared a saint by the Vatican. The date was decided at a meeting in Vatican on Sunday. Sister Alphonsa spent most part of her life in Bharnanganam convent. It is said that a physically challenged boy was cured of his deformity after praying at Sister Alphonsa's tomb.Last year, the Pope accepted it was a miracle based on which Sister Alphonsa will be declared a saint.Barely 500 metres away from Bharnanganam, there's a museum, which is more a pilgrimage centre.The sister joined this convent in 1927 and spent 20 years serving the people before she died of illness at the age of 36. From the cot on which she breathed her last to her personal belongings everything is well preserved. Now that the Vatican will declare her a saint everyone here is excited. "We are very happy that she is going to be cannonised. It's a big thing we are waiting for that occasion," said Sister Grace, Senior Member, Alphonsa Convent, Bharananganam.Sister Alphonsa was beatified by Pope John Paul the II in 1986.With the canonisation slated scheduled for October people are coming from various parts of the state to the church to offer prayers.This group of differently-abled women has come all the way from Kochi to seek the blessings of Sister Alphonsa."It is a big thing for Kerala church. She is going to be canonized," said Father Joseph, Parish Priest. Once declared saint, Sister Alphonsa will become the second Indian to get that status after St Gonsalo Garcia.And the Roman Catholic Church is looking forward to the D-day in October.
St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (The Passion Flower) (August 19, 1910 – July 28, 1946) is the first Indian woman to be elevated to sainthood. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and decided as a saint by the pope Benedict XVI on March 1, 2008. The official declaration would be on October 12, 2008 as the date was decided at a meeting held in Vatican.
On February 8, 1986, almost 40 years after her death, Pope John Paul II beatified her at Kottayam. On June 1, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI authorised her canonization. She will be the first female saint from India and the second saint from India. In the 19th century, Saint Gonsalo Garcia, born in Vasai near Mumbai to an Indian mother and Portuguese father in 1556, was declared a saint.
Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
Born as Annakkutty (little Anna)in Kudamaloor, a rural village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India, to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu. She was baptized on August 27, 1910 at Saint Mary's Church in Kudamaloor under the patronage of Saint Anna
Anna's mother died when she was very young, so her maternal aunt raised her. Anna was educated by her great-uncle Father Joseph Muttathupadathu. When Anna was 3 years old, she contracted eczema and suffered from it for over a year
Alphonsa Muttathupandathu
In 1916 she started school in Arpookara. She received First Communion on November 27, 1917. In 1918 she transferred to the school in Muttuchira. In 1923 Anna was badly burned on her feet when she fell into a pit of burning chaff. This accident left her permanently disabled.
She arrived at the Poor Clares convent at Bharananganam on Pentecost 1927. She received the postulant's veil on August 2, 1928 and took the name Alphonsa. In May 1929 she entered the Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster-mother died in 1930.
On May 19, 1930 she received her religious habit at Bharananganam. Three days later she resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at the school at Vakakkad. On August 11, 1931 she joined the novitiate. She took her permanent vows on August 12, 1936. Two days later she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry.
She taught elementary school, but was often sick and unable to teach.
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