Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception or Saint Alphonsa, christened at birth as Anna Muttathupadathu (19 August 1910– 28 July 1946), was a nun and an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

by vocation (profession). She was also known for being a victim soul, visionary and prophetess in the Kottayam pergunna of the erstwhile Travancore province of British India, in the present-day Kerala, India. She is the first woman of Indian origin to be canonised as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

after decades of enquiry by the

Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

, she is also the first saint of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic community of

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

. In the 1990s, a postal stamp commemorating Alphonsa was published by Kerala state's former minister, K Karunakaran.

Life

Early life

Alphonsa was born as Annakutty Muttathupadathu in a

Malankara Nasrani The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

family to Joseph Muttathupadathil and Mary Puthukari in Kudamalloor, near Kottayam, on 19 August 1910. She was baptised on 27 August. ''Alphonsamma'', as she was locally known, was born in Arpookara, a village in the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Travancore, what would become

Kerala state Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

. The village lies within the Archeparchy of Changanassery. Her parents nicknamed her ''Annakutty'' (little Anna). She had a difficult childhood characterised by the

loss of a parent Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogni ...

. Her mother died early, so her maternal aunt helped to raise her. Hagiographies describe her early life as one of hardships at the hands of her stern aunt and foster mother and one of teasing by schoolmates. Anna was educated by her great-uncle, Joseph Muttathupadathu. When Anna was three-years-old, she contracted eczema and suffered for over a year. In 1916, Anna started school in Arpookara. She received her

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

on 27 November 1917. When the first school cycle ended in 1920, the time had come to transfer to Muttuchira, to the house of her aunt Anna Murickan, to whom her mother had entrusted get, before she died. She was raised in the Murickan family, which was an age-old and prominent family in the area. As a child her grandmother would tell her stories of

s, teach prayers& Christian songs. As an adolescent Anna received many marriage proposals from reputed families. However, she had a feeling in her mind that she wants to be a bride of Christ and do good things for people. In these years, Thérèse of Lisieux appeared and told her that she will one day become a saint. There are many similarities in the lives of Anna and Thérèse, and she was Anna's all-time favorite patron saint and role model. Anna sacrificed her material fortune and wanted to dedicate her life to Jesus Christ. In 1923, Anna's feet were burnt when she fell into a pit of burning

chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...

; local hagiographies describe this as a self-inflicted injury in order to avoid her foster mother's attempt to arrange a marriage for her and thereby to fulfill her desire for becoming a religious sister instead. This accident left her partially disabled for the rest of her life. St Alphonsa 6

Sister Alphonsa

When it became possible, Anna joined the

Franciscan Clarist Congregation The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many ma ...

, a religious congregation of the

Third Order of St. Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many ma ...

, and through them, completed her schooling. Anna arrived at the Clarist convent at Bharananganam, Kottayam district, on Pentecost Sunday 1927. She received the postulant's veil on 2 August 1928 and took the name Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception in honor of Alphonsus Liguori, whose feast day it was. In May 1929 Alphonsa was assigned to teach at Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster mother died in 1930. She resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at a school at Vakakkad. On 19 May 1930 Alphonsa entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the congregation at Bharananganam. On 11 August 1931 she completed the novitiate and took her first vows. And became a religious in the Catholic Church.

Health decline

The period 1930–1935 was characterised by grave illness. Alphonsa took her permanent vows on 12 August 1936. Two days later she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry. She then 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. In December 1936, it is claimed that she was cured from her ailments through the intervention of the Kuriakose Elias Chavara (who was beatified at the same ceremony as she), 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 gastroenteritis and liver problems that caused violent convulsions and vomiting. During the last year of her life she came to know Sebastian Valopilly (later Bishop of Kerala) 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 in Thalassery as a result of shortages elsewhere.

Death

After a series of serious health problems, she died on 28 July 1946, at a young age of 35. She was buried at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Bharananganam, Travancore (present day Kottayam district) in the Diocese of Palai."St. Alphonsa"
''Kerala Catholic Times''. Retrieved on 25 July 2020. Her death news made her loved ones sad. Many people came to see Alphonsa's funeral.

Veneration

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. On 2 December 1953, Cardinal Eugène Tisserant inaugurated the diocesan process for her beatification and Alphonsa was declared a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

. In 1985, Pope John Paul II formally approved a miracle attributed to her intercession and on 9 July she became "Venerable Sister Alphonsa"."St. Alphonsa"
St. Alphonsa Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Los Angeles, California.

Beatification

Alphonsa was beatified along with Kuriakose Elias Chavara at Kottayam, on 8 February 1986 by Pope John Paul II during his apostolic pilgrimage to India. During his speech at Nehru Stadium, the Pope said:

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. ... 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.

Miracles

Hundreds of miraculous cures are claimed from 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''. 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.

Canonization

On Sunday, 12 October 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced her

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

at a ceremony at

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

. Indians from across the world, especially people from Kerala, gathered at the ceremony in Rome. Among them was a 10-year-old Kerala boy Jinil Joseph whose clubfoot – a birth defect – was, in the judgment of Vatican officials, miraculously healed after prayers to Alphonsa in 1999. The final ceremony for the canonization began with the holy relics of Alphonsa being presented to the Pope by Sister Celia, Mother General of the

, the congregation to which Alphonsa belonged. Celia was accompanied by Vice Postulator Francis Vadakkel and former Kerala minister K. M. Mani, all holding lit candles. Speaking in English, the Pope declared Alphonsa a saint, after reading excerpts from the Bible. The Pope himself read out the biography of Alphonsa after the ceremony. In the homily, Pope Benedict XVI recalled 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, , 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 always provides the strength we need to overcome every trial," the pope stated before the ceremony ended. The canonization was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers and the toll of church bells. St Mary's Forane church at Kudmaloor, her home parish, also celebrated a special Mass. The grave at St Mary's Forane Church in Bharananganam where the Franciscan Clarist Sister was buried had a chapel built there, which houses her mortal remains. Reserve bank of India Issued a 5 Rupees Commemorative Coin in 2009 marking the birth centenary of Alphonsa. Saint Alphonsa Tomb

Shrine

Her tomb at St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Bharananganam, has become a pilgrimage site as miracles have been reported by some of the faithful. St. Alphonsa Church Valiyakolly is known as the "Bharanaganam of North Kerala" (unofficial). This church is under the diocese of Thamarassery. Valiyakolly church is the first church named after Alphonsa in the diocese. And hence this church is one of the main pilgrimage centers of Saint Alphonsa in North Kerala. Novena on the name of Saint Alphonsa is being conducted here on every Friday evening

Feast

Thousands of people converge on the small town of Bharananganam when they celebrate the feast of Saint Alphonsa from 19 to 28 July each year; her tomb has been designated as a pilgrimage site with numerous miracles being reported by pious devotees.

Documentary video

In 2008, Sibi Yogiaveedan directed a documentary video of Alphonsa, which known as "Vishudha (saint) Alphonsama- The passion flower". In this video the director tries to bring Alphonsa's childhood friends and relatives. Which made the documentary video more interesting because they are sharing the real life experience with Alphonsa. In addition, Alphonsa's character was played by Nikhila Vimal. The video was made in Malayalam language. For this reason, English

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

have been included. Tomb of Saint Alphonsa

References

External links

*
St. Alphonsa Anna Muttathupadam of the Immaculate Conception, F. C. C.

Saint Alphonsa

100 Maxims of the saintSt. Alphonsa documentary on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alphonsa, Saint 1910 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian women Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope Benedict XVI Christian clergy from Kottayam Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Christianity in Kerala Franciscan mystics Franciscan saints Indian Eastern Catholic nuns Indian Christian mystics Indian Christian saints Malayali people People from Changanassery Scholars from Kerala Syro-Malabar Catholics Syro-Malabar saints Third Order Regular Franciscans Women from Kerala Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Venerated Catholics from Kerala