St. Alphonsa of India

  Posted on August 24, 2024  by admin  No comments

Born: 19 August 1910 at Kudamalloor, Kerala, India

Died: 28 July 1946 at Bharananganam, India, of natural causes, buried in the chapel connected with the cemetery of Saint Mary’s church, Bharananganam, India, which has become an important place of pilgrimage Canonized Sunday 12 October 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI Name Meaning noble ready; battle ready

Patronage: against bodily ills, against illness, against sickness, against the death of parents, sick people.

Also known as Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, Alphonsa of Bharananganam, Anna Muttathupadathu, Annakutty

Born in a rural area to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu. Baptized on 27 August 1910. Her mother died when Anna was very young, and she was raised by her maternal aunt, and educated by her great-uncle Father Joseph Muttathupadathu. At age 3 she contracted an infected eczema from which she suffered for over a year. Made her first Communion on 27 November 1917. Badly burned on her feet when she accidentally fell into a pit of burning chaff, leaving her permanently partially disabled. Joined the Poor Clare convent at Bharananganam on 2 August 1928, taking the name Alphonsa, and making her vows on 12 August 1936. She lost her aunt/foster-mother in 1930. Worked as a primary school taught, and the children loved her for her gentleness and cheery way, but health problems often kept her from the classroom. In December 1936 she was miraculously cured from her ailments through the intervention of Saint Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara. However, in June 1939 she was struck by a severe attack of pneumonia, weakening her overall. On 18 October 1940 a thief stumbled into her room in the middle of the night; the shock of the event caused Alphonsa to suffer a loss of memory, and further weakened her. Her condition continued deteriorated for months, and she was given last rites on 29 September 1941; the next day, she regained her memory, though not complete health. She enjoyed some improvement over the next few years, but in July 1945 she developed a stomach problem that eventually led to her death. She was noted for her suffering, and suffering in silence. Incidents of her intervention began almost immediately upon her death, and often involved the children in the convent school. Hundreds of miraculous cures are claimed for her intervention, many of involving straightening of clubbed-feet, possibly because of her having lived with deformed feet herself; two of these 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. Thousands converge on the small town of Bharananganam when they celebrate the feast of Saint Alphonsa from 19 to 28 July each year.