Kerala-born nun to be made saint by pope on Oct 12 <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kerala_nun_to_be_made_saint_on_Oct_12/articleshow/3552876.cms>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kerala_nun_to_be_made_saint_on_Oct_12/articleshow/3552876.cms
3 Oct 2008, 0017 hrs IST,TNN
Emacs!
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 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.
<*}}}>< <http://halfthekingdom.mofuse.mobi/>Half the Kingdom!
on your Mobile <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/wordpress/>Half the Kingdom!
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<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom! Main Site
<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/by-the-by/>Half the
Kingdom! By the by <*}}}><
Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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<*}}}>< <http://halfthekingdom.mofuse.mobi/>Half the Kingdom!
on your Mobile <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/wordpress/>Half the Kingdom!
Blog <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom! Main Site
<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/by-the-by/>Half the
Kingdom! By the by <*}}}><
Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
