St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (August 19, 1910 – July 28, 1946) is the first Indian woman to be elevated to sainthood.

She is the first Indian woman Saint

Born : August 19, 1910, Kottayam district, Kerala, India

Died : July 28, 1946, Bharananganam

Venerated in : Roman Catholic Church

Beatified : February 8, 1986, Kottayam by Pope John Paul II

Canonized : October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI

Feast : July 28

Patronage

against bodily ills || against illness

against sickness || against the death of parents

sick people

Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception; is a Catholic Saint, the second person of Indian origin to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church of the Saint Thomas Christian community.

She was born as Annakkutty (little Anna) in Kudamaloor, a village in the princely state of Travancore which was under the British Raj (now present day Kottayam district, Kerala, India) to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu. 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. 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.[1]
In 1916 Anna started her schooling in Arpookara. She received First Communion on 27 November 1917. In 1918 she was transferred to the school in Muttuchira. In 1923 Anna was badly burned on her feet when she fell into a pit of burning chaff. This accident left her permanently disabled.

When it became possible, Anna joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation.[4] She arrived at the Poor Clares convent at Bharananganam on Pentecost 1927. She received the postulant's veil on 2 August 1928 and took the name Alphonsa. In May 1929 she entered the Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster mother died in 1930.
On 19 May 1930 she received her religious habit at Bharananganam. Three days later she resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at the school at Vakakkad. On 11 August 1931 she joined the novitiate. Anna took her permanent vows on 12 August 1936. Two days later she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry.

She taught elementary school, but was often sick and unable to teach .
In December 1936, it is claimed that she was cured from her ailments through the intervention of Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara, 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

She died on 28 July 1946, aged 35. She is buried at Bharananganam, Travancore (present day Kerala) in the Diocese of Palai.Her tomb in Bharananganam has become a pilgrimage site as miracles have been reported by some faithful.

On 2 December 1953, Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Cardinal Tisserant 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 Kuriakose Elias Chavara 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:

"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."

Pope Benedict XVI cleared Sister Alphonsa's name for canonisation on 1 June 2007, a process that was started 55 years ago. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 in Kottayam, 40 years after her death, in recognition of the numerous miracles associated with her. On Sunday, 12 October 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced her canonization at a ceremony at Saint Peter's Square.