Maria Theresa Chiramel
Encyclopedia
Blessed Maria Theresa Chiramel (April 26, 1876 – June 8, 1926) was a Syro-Malabarese Catholic nun who was beatified
in 2000. She was the daughter of Thoma and Thanda Chiramel Mankidiyan in the village of Puthenchira
, Thrissur District
, in Kerala
, India
. She was baptized Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan on May 3, 1876. She was the third of five children, two boys and three girls. Her family had once been a rich and noble family with extensive landed property. But they had become poorer and poorer as Thresia's grandfather married away seven daughters one after the other selling the property to pay a costly dowry for each of them. To forget the poor straits to which the family was reduced, Thresia's father and brother took to drinking.
Thresia grew up in piety and holiness under the loving guidance of her saintly mother Thanda. As she wrote later in her Autobiography (a small document of hardly six pages written under obedience to her spiritual father), Thresia was moved from early childhood by an intense desire to love God. For this purpose she fasted four times a week and prayed the rosary
several times a day. Seeing her thinned down at eight years of age, Thanda tried to dissuade Thresia from her severe fasts and night vigils. But Thresia wanted to be ever more in the likeness of the suffering Christ. She made a private vow of chastity at when she was 10. Her mother died when Thresia was 12. Her mother's death also marked the end of her elementary school education. She dedicated herself to prayer, to the service of the poor and sick, and to the comfort of lonely people in her parish.
With three friends, she formed a prayer group, and engaged in apostolic work on the streets, with the neediest families of the village including the untouchables caste
. Because they traveled unaccompanied by men they were severely criticized. Thresia placed her trust in the help of the Holy Family
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. She saw them frequently in visions and received guidance in her apostolate, especially for the conversion of sinners. She prayed for sinners, fasted for their conversion, and visited them and exhorted them to repentance. Her ascetical and penitential practices are reminisant of the extreme rigour of the ancient hermits and monks. She received several mystical gifts like prophecy, healing, aura of light, sweet odour. And like St. Teresa of Avila she had frequent ecstasies and levitations. On Fridays people used to gather to see Mariam Thresia lifted high and hanging in the form of a crucifix on the wall of her room.
Like the well-known Blessed Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
, she too bore the stigmata
, carefully hiding it from public view. Perhaps to help her keep humble amidst such mystical favours, the Lord let her be tormented by diabolical attacks and vexations (again like Padre Pio) almost all through her life. She was repeatedly submitted to exorcism
between 1902 and 1905 by Father Joseph Vithayathil, the parish priest of Puthenchira
, acting under orders of the bishop, who wondered if she was simply a play thing of the devil
s. Thresia submitted to the bishop's orders with exemplary humility, but the exorcisms seem to have made some people regard Mariam Thresia as a dubious saint, even as Saint Mary Magdalene, was eventually identified with the unnamed sinful woman in the Gospel
(Luke
7: 36-50) on the presumption that a possessed person must be a sinner.
Mariam Thresia had also to fight temptations particularly against faith
and chastity
and she passed through the dark night of the soul
. From 1902 till her death she had Father Vithayathil for spiritual director. She opened her heart fully and confidently to him and followed his advice and obeyed him blindly. Of her extant letters fifty-three out of fifty-five are addressed to him seeking advice and spiritual guidance. In 1903 she requested permission to build a house of prayer and retreat, but Apostolic Vicar Mar John Menacherry
of Trichur refused the request, and recommended that she test her vocation. As a child she was known as Thresia. After 1904 she wanted to be called Mariam Thresia as she believed that she was asked to add "Mariam" to her name by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a vision.
Mariam entered several religious congregations, and in 1913 her bishop granted her permission to build the home. On May 14, 1914, the Congregation of the Holy Family was founded. And it was as Mariam Thresia that she was professed in 1914, the foundress and first member of that congregation. By Mariam's death of natural causes on June 8, 1926, they had established three convents, two day schools, two boarding schools, a study home, and an orphanage. Today the Congregation operates in Kerala, in Northern India, Germany
, Italy
, and Ghana
with over 170 houses. She was declared venerable
on June 28, 1999 by Pope John Paul II
. She was beatified on April 9, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
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...
in 2000. She was the daughter of Thoma and Thanda Chiramel Mankidiyan in the village of Puthenchira
Puthenchira
Puthenchira is a village in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India.-Demographics: India census, Puthenchira had a population of 20964 with 9789 males and 11175 females.- History:...
, Thrissur District
Thrissur district
Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...
, in 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...
. She was baptized Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan on May 3, 1876. She was the third of five children, two boys and three girls. Her family had once been a rich and noble family with extensive landed property. But they had become poorer and poorer as Thresia's grandfather married away seven daughters one after the other selling the property to pay a costly dowry for each of them. To forget the poor straits to which the family was reduced, Thresia's father and brother took to drinking.
Thresia grew up in piety and holiness under the loving guidance of her saintly mother Thanda. As she wrote later in her Autobiography (a small document of hardly six pages written under obedience to her spiritual father), Thresia was moved from early childhood by an intense desire to love God. For this purpose she fasted four times a week and prayed the rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
several times a day. Seeing her thinned down at eight years of age, Thanda tried to dissuade Thresia from her severe fasts and night vigils. But Thresia wanted to be ever more in the likeness of the suffering Christ. She made a private vow of chastity at when she was 10. Her mother died when Thresia was 12. Her mother's death also marked the end of her elementary school education. She dedicated herself to prayer, to the service of the poor and sick, and to the comfort of lonely people in her parish.
With three friends, she formed a prayer group, and engaged in apostolic work on the streets, with the neediest families of the village including the untouchables caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
. Because they traveled unaccompanied by men they were severely criticized. Thresia placed her trust in the help of the Holy Family
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family...
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. She saw them frequently in visions and received guidance in her apostolate, especially for the conversion of sinners. She prayed for sinners, fasted for their conversion, and visited them and exhorted them to repentance. Her ascetical and penitential practices are reminisant of the extreme rigour of the ancient hermits and monks. She received several mystical gifts like prophecy, healing, aura of light, sweet odour. And like St. Teresa of Avila she had frequent ecstasies and levitations. On Fridays people used to gather to see Mariam Thresia lifted high and hanging in the form of a crucifix on the wall of her room.
Like the well-known Blessed Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Pio of Pietrelcina
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was a Capuchin priest from Italy who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was born Francesco Forgione, and given the name Pio when he joined the Capuchins; he was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous for his ...
, she too bore the stigmata
Stigmata
Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, such as the hands and feet...
, carefully hiding it from public view. Perhaps to help her keep humble amidst such mystical favours, the Lord let her be tormented by diabolical attacks and vexations (again like Padre Pio) almost all through her life. She was repeatedly submitted to exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
between 1902 and 1905 by Father Joseph Vithayathil, the parish priest of Puthenchira
Puthenchira
Puthenchira is a village in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India.-Demographics: India census, Puthenchira had a population of 20964 with 9789 males and 11175 females.- History:...
, acting under orders of the bishop, who wondered if she was simply a play thing of the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
s. Thresia submitted to the bishop's orders with exemplary humility, but the exorcisms seem to have made some people regard Mariam Thresia as a dubious saint, even as Saint Mary Magdalene, was eventually identified with the unnamed sinful woman in the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
(Luke
Luke
Luke is a male given name, and less commonly, a surname.The name Luke is derived from the Latin name , from an Ancient Greek , meaning "man from Lucania". The earliest known recording of the name is from the Bible, The Gospel of Luke, which was written around AD 70 to 90, and it is from here...
7: 36-50) on the presumption that a possessed person must be a sinner.
Mariam Thresia had also to fight temptations particularly against faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
and she passed through the dark night of the soul
Dark Night of the Soul
Dark Night of the Soul is a treatise by Saint John of the Cross containing a commentary explaining his poem of the same name.-Poem and treatise by Saint John of the Cross:...
. From 1902 till her death she had Father Vithayathil for spiritual director. She opened her heart fully and confidently to him and followed his advice and obeyed him blindly. Of her extant letters fifty-three out of fifty-five are addressed to him seeking advice and spiritual guidance. In 1903 she requested permission to build a house of prayer and retreat, but Apostolic Vicar Mar John Menacherry
Mar John Menacherry
Mar John Menachery is the third Bishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur. He died in 1919 and was interred in the crypt of Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral, Thrissur....
of Trichur refused the request, and recommended that she test her vocation. As a child she was known as Thresia. After 1904 she wanted to be called Mariam Thresia as she believed that she was asked to add "Mariam" to her name by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a vision.
Mariam entered several religious congregations, and in 1913 her bishop granted her permission to build the home. On May 14, 1914, the Congregation of the Holy Family was founded. And it was as Mariam Thresia that she was professed in 1914, the foundress and first member of that congregation. By Mariam's death of natural causes on June 8, 1926, they had established three convents, two day schools, two boarding schools, a study home, and an orphanage. Today the Congregation operates in Kerala, in Northern India, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
with over 170 houses. 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 June 28, 1999 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 ...
. She was beatified on April 9, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
External links
- Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan at Patron Saint Index
- MARIAM THRESIA CHIRAMEL MANKIDIYAN