Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception
A short life of illness in Kerala, the first woman of Indian origin to be canonised
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Religious, Virgin
- Life
- 1910 – 1946
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 28 July
- Countries
- India
Life story
Alphonsa was born on 19 August 1910 at Kudamaloor in Kerala, southern India, and baptised Anna, known affectionately as Annakutty. Her mother died soon after her birth, and she was raised by an aunt. Her family belonged to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Church in communion with Rome.
According to her biographies, her youth was troubled when her family considered arranging a marriage, since she wished to enter religious life. In 1927 she entered the Franciscan Clarist convent at Bharananganam, was then admitted to the novitiate and took the name Alphonsa, after Saint Alphonsus Liguori. She made her religious profession in 1936.
Her health failed repeatedly through a succession of illnesses. She taught briefly and then had to stop, spending most of her time in the convent with her sickness. The sisters who lived with her remembered her gentleness and patience. She died on 28 July 1946, aged 35.
Her tomb at Bharananganam became a place of pilgrimage. John Paul II beatified her in Kottayam in 1986, and Benedict XVI canonised her on 12 October 2008, making her the first woman of Indian origin to be raised to the altars. Her feast is kept on 28 July, the day of her death. She belongs to the Syro-Malabar tradition, whose liturgy follows the East Syriac rite, and the canonisation ceremony in 2008 took place in Saint Peter's Square. Her cause was introduced in the years after her death, and her grave remains a place of pilgrimage for many visitors.
Works and witness
- Born in 1910 at Kudamaloor in Kerala
- Entered the Franciscan Clarist convent at Bharananganam
- Lived with illness for years and died in 1946 aged 35
- Beatified in 1986 and canonised on 12 October 2008
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, canonisation decree of 2008
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.