Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
Encyclopedia
Saint Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, F.C.C., or Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (19 August 1910 – 28 July 1946) was a Catholic Franciscan
Religious Sister
who is now honored as a saint
, the first person of Indian
origin to be canonized
as a saint by the Catholic Church and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
, an Eastern Catholic Church of the Saint Thomas Christian community.
Alphonsamma, as she was locally known, was born in Arpookara village in the Archdiocese of Changanassery
. She had a poor, difficult childhood and experienced loss and suffering early on in life. She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, a religious congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis
, and through them, completed schooling and made her permanent vows in 1936. She taught school for years but was plagued by illness.
Claims of her miraculous intervention began almost immediately upon her death, and often involved the children of the convent school where she used to teach. The cause for the canonization of Sister Alphonsa began on 2 December 1953 in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai and she was declared a Servant of God
. She was declared Venerable
on 9 July 1985 by Pope John Paul II
. Her beatification
was declared 8 February 1986 by Pope John Paul II at Kottayam.
Hundreds of miraculous cures are claimed for her intervention, many of them involving straightening of clubbed feet, possibly because of her having lived with deformed feet herself. Two of these cases were submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
as proof of her miraculous intervention. The continuing cures are chronicled in the magazine PassionFlower.
On Sunday, 12 October 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
announced her canonization
at a ceremony at Saint Peter's Square
.
, a village in the princely state
of Travancore
, which was under the British Raj
at the time. Today the place is called Kottayam District
, within the state of Kerala
, India
. Her parents, Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu, named her Annakkutty (little Anna). She was baptized on 27 August 1910 at Saint Mary's Church in Kudamaloor under the patronage of Saint Anna. Anna's mother died when she was young, so her maternal aunt raised her. Hagiographies describe her early life as one of suffering at the hands of her stern foster mother and the teasing of schoolchildren. Anna was educated by her great-uncle, Father Joseph Muttathupadathu. When Anna was three years old, she contracted eczema
and suffered for over a year.
In 1916 Anna joined school in Arpookara
. She received her First Communion
on 27 November 1917. In 1918, she was transferred to a school in Muttuchira. In 1923, Anna's feet were burnt when she fell into a pit of burning chaff; local hagiographies describe this as a self-inflicted injury in order to avoid her foster mother's attempt to arrange her marriage, and fulfill her ambition of becoming a Religious Sister instead. This accident left her permanently disabled.
When it became possible, Anna joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation. She arrived at the Clarist convent at Bharananganam
, Kottayam district, on the day of Pentecost
, 1927. She received the postulant
's veil on 2 August 1928. In May 1929 she joined the Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster mother died in 1930. Three days later she resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at a school at Vakakkad.
On 19 May 1930 she entered the novitiate
of the Congregation at Bharananganam and received the religious habit
, taking her religious name of Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception
at that time. On 11 August 1931, she completed the novitiate and took her first vows. Sister Alphonsa took her permanent vows on 12 August 1936. Two days later she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry.
She taught high school at St. Alphonsa Girl's High School, but was often sick and unable to teach. For most of her years as a Clarist Sister she endured serious illness.
, but on 14 June 1939 she was struck by a severe attack of pneumonia
, which left her weakened. On 18 October 1940, a thief entered her room in the middle of the night. This traumatic event caused her to suffer amnesia and weakened her again.
Her health continued to deteriorate over a period of months. She received extreme unction on 29 September 1941. The next day it is believed that she regained her memory, though not complete health. Her health improved over the next few years, until in July 1945 she developed a stomach problem that caused vomiting.
, Travancore
(present day Kerala
) in the Diocese of Palai.
During the last year of her life she came to know the later-Bishop of Kerala Sebastian Valopilly, a priest at the time, who frequently brought her communion. This bishop became famous in Kerala for championing the cause of poor people from all religious backgrounds who had come to live Thalassery as a result of shortages elsewhere. He was also the person who reported the miracle attributed to St. Alphonsa's intercession.
The miracle attributed to her intercession and approved by the Vatican for proceeding with her canonization was the healing of the club foot
of an infant in 1985.
Bishop Sebastian reported:
The boy had reportedly taken Alphonsa's picture card and asked Alphonsa to help fix his feet. Several days afterwards one of his feet supposedly turned around. He and the other members of his family then prayed for the cure of the second foot, which also supposedly turned around later. The boy did not convert to Christianity.
Her tomb in Bharananganam has become a pilgrimage site as miracles have been reported by some faithful.
inaugurated the diocesan process for her beatification. Pope John Paul II
formally approved a miracle attributed to her intercession and Alphonsa was declared Servant of God
on 9 July 1985. She was then known as Venerable Sister Alphonsa. She was beatified along with Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara
, T.O.R., at Kottayam.
During the Apostolic Pilgrimage to India of Pope John Paul II
, the Pope said as part of his speech at Nehru Stadium, Kottayam
, on 8 February 1986, that:
The miracle that was attributed to her intercession and approved by the Vatican for canonization was the healing of the club foot
of a Muslim infant in 1985 in the district of Thalassery of Kerala State.
She was elevated to sainthood on 12 October 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The final ceremony for the canonization began on 12 October 2008 with the holy relics of Alphonsa being presented to the Pope by Sister Celia, Mother General of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, the congregation to which Sister Alphonsa belonged. Sister Celia was accompanied by Vice Postulator Father Francis Vadakkel and former Kerala minister K. M. Mani, all holding lit candles. Speaking in English, the Pope declared Sister Alphonsa a saint, after reading excerpts from the Holy Bible. The Pope himself read out the biography of Alphonsa after the ceremony.
In the homily, Pope Benedict XVI recalled Saint Alphonsa's life as one of "extreme physical and spiritual suffering."
"(Her) heroic virtues of patience, fortitude and perseverance in the midst of deep suffering remind us that God
always provides the strength we need to overcome every trial", the pope stated before the ceremony ended.
Pope Benedict XVI
also invited people "to pray for reconciliation and peace for some situations that that are causing alarm and great suffering," specifically citing the civil war situation in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and "the violence against Christians in Iraq and India." .
The ceremony was attended by around 25,000 people of Indian origin - many waving Indian flags - as well as a large delegation from India. A 15-member official Indian delegation, led by Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, attended the ceremony.
With Sister Alphonsa being raised to the list of saints by the Vatican on Sunday, the Catholic Church in Kerala celebrated the canonisation of the first Indian saint from an Indian Rite. Across the State, church bells tolled as Pope Benedict XVI
named her St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception.
The cemetery where the Franciscan Clarist Sister was buried 62 years ago at St Mary’s Forane Church at Bharananganam
has now been turned into the chapel which houses her mortal remains. The canonisation was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers and the toll of church bells. St Mary’s Forane church at Kudmaloor, the parent parish of the saint, also celebrated a special Mass.
when they celebrate the feast of Saint Alphonsa from 19 to 28 July each year; her tomb is becoming a pilgrimage site these days as miracles are reported by some devotees.
1. I had aspired zealously to become a saint. I felt that burning desire after reading the autobiography of St. Little Teresa of Lisieux
2. Practise your austerity in strict secrecy; it will fortify your spirit.
3. I desired to be ever faithful to Jesus. I would rather die than break this promise.
4. It is my beloved Spiritual Instructors who guided me to the threshold of Knowledge and enabled me to experience it, by training me to prepare and use each of them in the apt time.
5. By nature, I am affectionate; it seems that my whole heart is full of love.
6. I have love towards everyone. It is impossible for me to hate anyone.
7. My only desire is to love my Lord to perfection.
8. My Jesus is sufficient for me. I don't want anything else.
9. How great is the joy experienced when everything is offered in the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
10. I will rejoice in whatever comes through the hands of my Jesus.
11. It is my strong faith that nothing shall ever happen to me without the knowledge of my Jesus.
12. I have completely abandoned myself to Jesus. Let Him do with me as He wills.
13. God in His infinite goodness has granted me the strength to preserve inviolate the sanctifying grace I obtained at my Baptism.
14. I would rather die than commit consciously even a trivial venial sin and thereby offend God.
15. Humility is the queen of all virtues. I consider all occasions to humble myself as a great blessing.
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Religious Sister
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
who is now honored as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
, the first person of Indian
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
origin to be canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
as a saint by the Catholic Church and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India is an East Syrian Rite, Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. It is one of the 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic Church. It is the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations with more than 3.6...
, an Eastern Catholic Church of the Saint Thomas Christian community.
Alphonsamma, as she was locally known, was born in Arpookara village in the Archdiocese of Changanassery
Archdiocese of Changanassery
Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery is a Catholic Archdiocese in India, under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Currently, it is the largest Catholic Diocese in India...
. She had a poor, difficult childhood and experienced loss and suffering early on in life. She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, a religious congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
, and through them, completed schooling and made her permanent vows in 1936. She taught school for years but was plagued by illness.
Claims of her miraculous intervention began almost immediately upon her death, and often involved the children of the convent school where she used to teach. The cause for the canonization of Sister Alphonsa began on 2 December 1953 in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai and she was declared a Servant of God
Servant of God
Servant of God is a title given to individuals by various religions, but in general the phrase is used to describe a person believed to be pious in his or her faith tradition. In the Catholic Church, it designates someone who is being investigated by the Church for possibly being recognized as a...
. She was declared Venerable
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
on 9 July 1985 by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. Her beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
was declared 8 February 1986 by Pope John Paul II at Kottayam.
Hundreds of miraculous cures are claimed for her intervention, many of them involving straightening of clubbed feet, possibly because of her having lived with deformed feet herself. Two of these cases were submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
Congregation for the Causes of Saints
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passing through the steps of a declaration of "heroic virtues" and beatification...
as proof of her miraculous intervention. The continuing cures are chronicled in the magazine PassionFlower.
On Sunday, 12 October 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
announced her canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
at a ceremony at Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome .-History of St...
.
Early life
She was born in ArpookaraArpookara
Arpookara is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.The Kottayam Medical College is situated in Arpookara.The main attraction is the backwaters in Arpookara.- Demographics :...
, a village in the princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, which was under the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
at the time. Today the place is called Kottayam District
Kottayam district
Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The district has its headquarters at Kottayam town, located at 9.36° N and 76.17° E. According to the 1991 census, it is the first district to achieve highest literacy rate in the whole of India...
, within the state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Her parents, Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu, named her Annakkutty (little Anna). She was baptized on 27 August 1910 at Saint Mary's Church in Kudamaloor under the patronage of Saint Anna. Anna's mother died when she was young, so her maternal aunt raised her. Hagiographies describe her early life as one of suffering at the hands of her stern foster mother and the teasing of schoolchildren. Anna was educated by her great-uncle, Father Joseph Muttathupadathu. When Anna was three years old, she contracted eczema
Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
and suffered for over a year.
In 1916 Anna joined school in Arpookara
Arpookara
Arpookara is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.The Kottayam Medical College is situated in Arpookara.The main attraction is the backwaters in Arpookara.- Demographics :...
. She received her First Communion
First Communion
The First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
on 27 November 1917. In 1918, she was transferred to a school in Muttuchira. In 1923, Anna's feet were burnt when she fell into a pit of burning chaff; local hagiographies describe this as a self-inflicted injury in order to avoid her foster mother's attempt to arrange her marriage, and fulfill her ambition of becoming a Religious Sister instead. This accident left her permanently disabled.
When it became possible, Anna joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation. She arrived at the Clarist convent at Bharananganam
Bharananganam
Bharananganam, an important pilgrim centre in South India, is located on the banks of Meenachil river, 5 km east of Pala in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are bestowed with natural beauty due to hilly areas and lot of vegetation.- Saint Alphonsa's...
, Kottayam district, on the day of Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, 1927. She received the postulant
Postulant
A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a monastery or a convent, both before actual admission and for the length of time preceding their admission into the novitiate...
's veil on 2 August 1928. In May 1929 she joined the Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster mother died in 1930. Three days later she resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at a school at Vakakkad.
On 19 May 1930 she entered the novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of the Congregation at Bharananganam and received the religious habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
, taking her religious name of Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
at that time. On 11 August 1931, she completed the novitiate and took her first vows. Sister Alphonsa took her permanent vows on 12 August 1936. Two days later she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry.
She taught high school at St. Alphonsa Girl's High School, but was often sick and unable to teach. For most of her years as a Clarist Sister she endured serious illness.
Health declines
In December 1936, it is claimed that she was cured from her ailments through the intervention of Blessed Kuriakose Elias ChavaraKuriakose Elias Chavara
Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara was the co-founder and first prior-general of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate and of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel....
, but on 14 June 1939 she was struck by a severe attack of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, which left her weakened. On 18 October 1940, a thief entered her room in the middle of the night. This traumatic event caused her to suffer amnesia and weakened her again.
Her health continued to deteriorate over a period of months. She received extreme unction on 29 September 1941. The next day it is believed that she regained her memory, though not complete health. Her health improved over the next few years, until in July 1945 she developed a stomach problem that caused vomiting.
Death
She died on 28 July 1946, aged 35. She is buried at BharananganamBharananganam
Bharananganam, an important pilgrim centre in South India, is located on the banks of Meenachil river, 5 km east of Pala in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are bestowed with natural beauty due to hilly areas and lot of vegetation.- Saint Alphonsa's...
, Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
(present day Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
) in the Diocese of Palai.
During the last year of her life she came to know the later-Bishop of Kerala Sebastian Valopilly, a priest at the time, who frequently brought her communion. This bishop became famous in Kerala for championing the cause of poor people from all religious backgrounds who had come to live Thalassery as a result of shortages elsewhere. He was also the person who reported the miracle attributed to St. Alphonsa's intercession.
The miracle attributed to her intercession and approved by the Vatican for proceeding with her canonization was the healing of the club foot
Club foot
A club foot, or congenital talipes equinovarus , is a congenital deformity involving one foot or both. The affected foot appears rotated internally at the ankle. TEV is classified into 2 groups: Postural TEV or Structural TEV....
of an infant in 1985.
Bishop Sebastian reported:
About ten years ago, when I was in a small village in Wayanad outside Manatavady, I saw a boy walking with some difficulty, using a stick. As he approached me I noted that both of his feet were turned upside down. I had a stack of holy cards in my pocket with Alphonsa's picture on them, so I pulled one of them out and gave it to the boy. When I told the boy that he should pray to this woman for the cure of his feet, the boy-he was quite smart for a ten-year-old boy-replied, "But I'm a Muslim, and, besides, I was born this way." I replied that God is very powerful, so let's pray.A few months later,a boy and a gentleman appeared at the house here.I didn't recognize them at first but soon learned that it was the Muslim boy with his father, here to tell me that his feet had been cured through their prayers to Sister Alphonsa. They showed me the calluses on the tops of his feet, and you could see the marks which had been made from the years of his walking with his feet turned under. Before they left, the three of us had our pictures taken.
The boy had reportedly taken Alphonsa's picture card and asked Alphonsa to help fix his feet. Several days afterwards one of his feet supposedly turned around. He and the other members of his family then prayed for the cure of the second foot, which also supposedly turned around later. The boy did not convert to Christianity.
Her tomb in Bharananganam has become a pilgrimage site as miracles have been reported by some faithful.
Beatification
On 2 December 1953, Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Cardinal TisserantEugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant
Eugène Tisserant was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Elevated to the cardinalate in 1936, Tisserant was a prominent and long-time member of the Roman Curia. He was also, for a time, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre...
inaugurated the diocesan process for her beatification. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
formally approved a miracle attributed to her intercession and Alphonsa was declared Servant of God
Servant of God
Servant of God is a title given to individuals by various religions, but in general the phrase is used to describe a person believed to be pious in his or her faith tradition. In the Catholic Church, it designates someone who is being investigated by the Church for possibly being recognized as a...
on 9 July 1985. She was then known as Venerable Sister Alphonsa. She was beatified along with Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara
Kuriakose Elias Chavara
Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara was the co-founder and first prior-general of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate and of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel....
, T.O.R., at Kottayam.
During the Apostolic Pilgrimage to India of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, the Pope said as part of his speech at Nehru Stadium, Kottayam
Kottayam
Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...
, on 8 February 1986, that:
"From early in her life, Sister Alphonsa experienced great suffering. With the passing of the years, the heavenly Father gave her an ever fuller share in the Passion of his beloved Son. We recall how she experienced not only physical pain of great intensity, but also the spiritual suffering of being misunderstood and misjudged by others. But she constantly accepted all her sufferings with serenity and trust in God, being firmly convinced that they would purify her motives, help her to overcome all selfishness, and unite her more closely with her beloved divine Spouse. She wrote to her spiritual director: "Dear Father, as my good Lord Jesus loves me so very much, I sincerely desire to remain on this sick bed and suffer not only this, but anything else besides, even to the end of the world. I feel now that God has intended my life to be an oblation, a sacrifice of suffering" (20 November 1944). She came to love suffering because she loved the suffering Christ. She learned to love the Cross through her love of the crucified Lord."
Canonization
Pope Benedict XVI authorized Sister Alphonsa's name for canonization on 1 June 2007, a process that was started 55 years earlier. She had been beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 in Kottayam, 40 years after her death, in recognition of the numerous miracles through intercessory prayers to her.The miracle that was attributed to her intercession and approved by the Vatican for canonization was the healing of the club foot
Club foot
A club foot, or congenital talipes equinovarus , is a congenital deformity involving one foot or both. The affected foot appears rotated internally at the ankle. TEV is classified into 2 groups: Postural TEV or Structural TEV....
of a Muslim infant in 1985 in the district of Thalassery of Kerala State.
She was elevated to sainthood on 12 October 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The final ceremony for the canonization began on 12 October 2008 with the holy relics of Alphonsa being presented to the Pope by Sister Celia, Mother General of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, the congregation to which Sister Alphonsa belonged. Sister Celia was accompanied by Vice Postulator Father Francis Vadakkel and former Kerala minister K. M. Mani, all holding lit candles. Speaking in English, the Pope declared Sister Alphonsa a saint, after reading excerpts from the Holy Bible. The Pope himself read out the biography of Alphonsa after the ceremony.
In the homily, Pope Benedict XVI recalled Saint Alphonsa's life as one of "extreme physical and spiritual suffering."
"This exceptional woman ... was convinced that her cross was the very means of reaching the heavenly banquet prepared for her by the Father", the pope stated. "By accepting the invitation to the wedding feast, and by adorning herself with the garment of God's grace through prayer and penance, she conformed her life to Christ's and now delights in the 'rich fare and choice wines' of the heavenly kingdom."
"(Her) heroic virtues of patience, fortitude and perseverance in the midst of deep suffering remind us that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
always provides the strength we need to overcome every trial", the pope stated before the ceremony ended.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
also invited people "to pray for reconciliation and peace for some situations that that are causing alarm and great suffering," specifically citing the civil war situation in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and "the violence against Christians in Iraq and India." .
The ceremony was attended by around 25,000 people of Indian origin - many waving Indian flags - as well as a large delegation from India. A 15-member official Indian delegation, led by Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, attended the ceremony.
With Sister Alphonsa being raised to the list of saints by the Vatican on Sunday, the Catholic Church in Kerala celebrated the canonisation of the first Indian saint from an Indian Rite. Across the State, church bells tolled as Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
named her St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception.
The cemetery where the Franciscan Clarist Sister was buried 62 years ago at St Mary’s Forane Church at Bharananganam
Bharananganam
Bharananganam, an important pilgrim centre in South India, is located on the banks of Meenachil river, 5 km east of Pala in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are bestowed with natural beauty due to hilly areas and lot of vegetation.- Saint Alphonsa's...
has now been turned into the chapel which houses her mortal remains. The canonisation was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers and the toll of church bells. St Mary’s Forane church at Kudmaloor, the parent parish of the saint, also celebrated a special Mass.
Feast
Thousands converge on the small town of BharananganamBharananganam
Bharananganam, an important pilgrim centre in South India, is located on the banks of Meenachil river, 5 km east of Pala in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are bestowed with natural beauty due to hilly areas and lot of vegetation.- Saint Alphonsa's...
when they celebrate the feast of Saint Alphonsa from 19 to 28 July each year; her tomb is becoming a pilgrimage site these days as miracles are reported by some devotees.
Important Maxims
There are about 100 Maxims of the saint1. I had aspired zealously to become a saint. I felt that burning desire after reading the autobiography of St. Little Teresa of Lisieux
2. Practise your austerity in strict secrecy; it will fortify your spirit.
3. I desired to be ever faithful to Jesus. I would rather die than break this promise.
4. It is my beloved Spiritual Instructors who guided me to the threshold of Knowledge and enabled me to experience it, by training me to prepare and use each of them in the apt time.
5. By nature, I am affectionate; it seems that my whole heart is full of love.
6. I have love towards everyone. It is impossible for me to hate anyone.
7. My only desire is to love my Lord to perfection.
8. My Jesus is sufficient for me. I don't want anything else.
9. How great is the joy experienced when everything is offered in the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
10. I will rejoice in whatever comes through the hands of my Jesus.
11. It is my strong faith that nothing shall ever happen to me without the knowledge of my Jesus.
12. I have completely abandoned myself to Jesus. Let Him do with me as He wills.
13. God in His infinite goodness has granted me the strength to preserve inviolate the sanctifying grace I obtained at my Baptism.
14. I would rather die than commit consciously even a trivial venial sin and thereby offend God.
15. Humility is the queen of all virtues. I consider all occasions to humble myself as a great blessing.
See also
- Syro Malabar Church
- Blessed Chavara
- Carmelites of Mary ImmaculateCarmelites of Mary ImmaculateThe Carmelites of Mary Immaculate is an religious order for men in the Syro-Malabar Church. It is the first Catholic religious congregation founded in India. The first monastery of the order was established on 11 May 1831 at Mannanam, Kerala, India...
- Saint Thomas ChristiansSaint Thomas ChristiansThe Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St...
- Catholic Bishops Conference of India
- Roman Catholicism in IndiaRoman Catholicism in IndiaThe Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope and the curia in Rome.There are over 17.3 million Catholics in India, which represents less than 2% of the total population and is the largest Christian church within India. There are 157...