Joy to the World

On this occasion, the Blessed Alphonsa church in Kalewadi, Pune will be renamed as Saint Alphonsa church. According to father Benny T, parish priest, Alphonsa church, “This is a historic moment and we are proud that we are a part of it. We have got the remains of sister Alphonsa from Kerala and it has been instituted here by the bishop of Kalyan.”

Sister Alphonsa was born on August 19, 1910 in a poor family. Though she taught in a school for a short period, sister Alphonsa had to give up her job due to illness. She spent most of her life in the sick room of the convent and she became known as the suffering servant . The title was more of a tribute to her for the way she accepted all the sufferings in her life, saying that it was a gift for her from her loving Lord. She was buried in Bharananganam, Kerala on July 28, 1946. She was declared blessed on February 8, 1986 by his holiness John Paul on his visit to Kerala.

“One of the basic prerequisites for declaring a person saint is that after his or her death, some miracle has to take place in his or her name. This miracle, mostly related to healing needs to be reported and certified by the doctors as a phenomenon beyond the capabilities of medical science. Other than this, the person has to have led a good, clean life,” adds C P Varkey, committee member, Alphonsa church.

Such a miracle took place in case of sister Alphonsa not once but twice. “In the year 1947, a person named Kunju was born in Kerala with a twisted leg. He prayed to sister Alphonsa and was miraculously cured. This was the incident that got sister Alphonsa declared as blessed. A similar phenomenon was repeated in 1999 when Jinil, a small boy in Kerala, born with two twisted legs was cured by praying to her. This miracle played a crucial role in making her a saint,” adds father Benny.

... contd.