Pope Francis to canonise Kerala nun tomorrow
Come Sunday, Pope Francis, the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church, will canonise Kerala’s Sister Mariam Thresia, fourth from the state, at the Vatican.
In his Mann ki Baat programme last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Sister Thresia’s elevation was a matter of pride for the country.
“It is a matter of pride for every Indian that on coming October 13, his holiness Pope Francis will declare Sister Mariam Thresia a saint. I pay heartfelt tributes to Sister Mariam Thresia,” PM Modi had said in the monthly radio programme.
Canonization is an official act with the Roman Catholic Church or Eastern Orthodox churches, which declares one of their deceased faithful, who led a life of sanctity or shed blood for the faith, a saint worthy of being venerated.
Thresia’s native village Puthenchira in Thrissur district and the congregation she founded in 1914, Holy Family, are jubilant and a delegation of theirs has already left to witness the event at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
“It is a proud moment for us. Kerala is truly turning into the God’s Own Country,” Sister Elsy Xavior, one of the mother superiors of the congregation, said before leaving for the Vatican.
Born in Puthenchira in 1876 as the third child of Thoma and Thanda, Thresia founded the Holy Family congregation in 1914, said congregation officials.
On Sunday, special prayers and services will be held in all Catholic churches across the state to mark the occasion.
Born in Puthenchira in Thrissur district in 1876 as the third child of Thoma and Thanda, Thresia founded the Holy Family congregation in 1914, said congregation officials. “She was the leading light for suppressed women,” said another nun.
Canonisation is an official act with the Roman Catholic Church or Eastern Orthodox churches, which declares one of their deceased faithful, who led a life of sanctity or shed blood for the faith, a saint worthy of being venerated.
On July 1 this year, Pope Francis had formally approved Sister Thresia’s canonisation at an ordinary public consistory of cardinals on causes of canonisation at the Vatican.