POPE FRANCIS ELEVATES INDIAN NUN MARIAM THRESIA, FOUR OTHERS TO SAINTHOOD
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Supreme head of Catholics Pope Francis on Sunday declared Kerala-born nun Mariam Thresia and four others as saints at a ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. A big contingent from the country, including Minister of State for external affairs V Mualeedharan, was present on the occasion.
The moment the Pope declared her a saint, thousands of believers assembled in her native village Puthenchira in Thrissur district sang prayers in praise of her. Mariam Thresia is the fourth saint from Kerala_ other three being St Alphonsa, St Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St Euphrasia. Three of them are women and St Alphonsa was the first from the country to receive sainthood.
Puthenchira, where Thresia was born on April 26, 1876, was decked up and a special crown of the saint was placed on her tomb to mark the occasion. “It is a proud moment for the country and believers.
It is an occasion for us to uphold the values taught by our be loved Mother,” said Cardinal Mar George Alancherry, the senior-most cardinal of the country, in his message from Vatican. Prayers and holy masses were held in all the Catholic churches across the state on the occasion.
Born as the third child of Thoma and Thanda, Mariam Thresia made a vow to remain chaste in 1886. Through dedication, she rose in the religious hierarchy and founded the Holy Family congregation in 1914, said congregation officials. “She encouraged family values and blended them with Christian traditions to remove evils from the society,” said Sister Udaya, a nun of the congregation.
According to Christian belief, a saint is a person in heaven with God, interceding for the faithful. The process of ordaining a saint is time-consuming as a person is first declared Venerable, Servant of God, Blessed and then a Saint and could take decades.