Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
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 Muttathupadathu (August 19, 1910 – July 28, 1946) is the first Indian woman to be elevated to sainthood. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and decided as a saint by the pope Benedict XVI on March 1, 2008. It was officially declared on October 12, 2008.
On February 8, 1986, almost 40 years after her death, Pope John Paul II beatified her at Kottayam. On June 1, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI authorised her canonization. She will be the first female saint from India and the second saint from India. In the 19th century, Saint Gonsalo Garcia, born in Vasai near Mumbai to an Indian mother and Portuguese father in 1556, was declared a saint.
