Saint Alphonsa, F.C.C., (born Anna Muttathupadathu; 19 August 1910 – 28 July 1946) was an Indian religious sister and educator. She was the first woman of Indian origin to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church, and the first canonised saint of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala. Her feast day is observed on 28 July. Saint Alphonsa, pray for us.
Pope St. John Paul II at her Beatification - February 1986 "From early in her life, Sister Alphonsa experienced great suffering. With the passing of the years, the heavenly Father gave her an ever fuller share in the Passion of his beloved Son. We recall how she experienced not only physical pain of great intensity, but also the spiritual suffering of being misunderstood and misjudged by others. But she constantly accepted all her sufferings with serenity and trust in God. ... She wrote to her spiritual director: "Dear Father, as my good Lord Jesus loves me so very much, I sincerely desire to remain on this sick bed and suffer not only this, but anything else besides, even to the end of the world. I feel now that God has intended my life to be an oblation, a sacrifice of suffering" (20 November 1944). She came to love suffering because she loved the suffering Christ. She learned to love the Cross through her love of the crucified Lord." Pope Benedict XVI at her Canonisation - 12 October 2008 "This exceptional woman ... was convinced that her cross was the very means of reaching the heavenly banquet prepared for her by the Father, By accepting the invitation to the wedding feast, and by adorning herself with the garment of God's grace through prayer and penance, she conformed her life to Christ's and now delights in the "rich fare and choice wines" of the heavenly kingdom."
Bishop Sebastian reported: "About ten years ago, when I was in a small village in Wayanad outside Manatavady, I saw a boy walking with some difficulty, using a stick. As he approached me I noted that both of his feet were turned upside down. I had a stack of holy cards in my pocket with Alphonsa's picture on them, so I pulled one of them out and gave it to the boy. When I told the boy that he should pray to this woman for the cure of his feet, the boy – he was quite smart for a ten-year-old boy – replied: "But I'm a Muslim, and, besides, I was born this way." I replied that God is very powerful, so let's pray. A few months later, a boy and a gentleman appeared at the house here. I didn't recognize them at first but soon learned that it was the Muslim boy with his father, here to tell me that his feet had been cured through their prayers to Sister Alphonsa. They showed me the calluses on the tops of his feet, and you could see the marks which had been made from the years of his walking with his feet turned under. Before they left, the three of us had our pictures taken. The boy had reportedly taken Alphonsa's picture card and asked Alphonsa to help fix his feet. Several days afterwards one of his feet apparently turned around. He and the other members of his family then prayed for the cure of the second foot, which also turned around later."
Prayer to Jesus, the Beloved Spouse of Saint Alphonsa Lord Jesus, Beloved Spouse of Saint Alphonsa, You chose her to be a pure lily blooming in the hidden garden of suffering. In her quiet humility, You found delight. In her bodily pain, she became a living sacrifice of love. Through her union with You, she radiated peace, patience, and joy. We come before You, O Merciful Jesus, asking through the intercession of Your faithful bride, Saint Alphonsa, that You grant us the grace to follow her example: – To seek purity of heart, – To embrace humility without complaint, – To offer our trials as prayers joined to Your Passion. May her prayers strengthen us in weakness, console us in sorrow, and guide us to trust in Your will, always. Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, beloved of Christ and daughter of Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
Her canonisation miracle: The miracle approved by the Vatican for her canonisation concerned young Ginil Joseph, born in May 1998 with congenital clubfoot, a condition in which the foot is turned permanently inward. Medical experts, including Dr. Aleyamma Korah of Vimala Hospital, Kottayam, testified before the Church tribunal that clubfoot cannot correct itself and can only be treated surgically. On 11 May 1999, his family visited the tomb of Blessed Alphonsa at Bharananganam and prayed for his healing. That same evening, during family rosary prayers at home, Ginil stood up and walked, his feet completely and inexplicably straightened. He was brought back to the hospital fully cured. The Vatican accepted this healing as miraculous, and Pope Benedict XVI canonised Alphonsa on 12 October 2008 in St. Peter's Square. The now 10-year-old Ginil was present at the ceremony in Rome. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonsa_of_the_Immaculate_Conception
Of note: the miracle for her beatification has been similar to the permanent foot injury she sustained in childhood after a self-inflicted burn to avoid marriage and for her second miracle mentioned above The miracle approved for her beatification was the complete and sudden recovery of a young boy named Athiyalil Thomas Abraham (known as Thomas), born with severe clubfoot in 1955 that prevented normal walking. In the years following Alphonsa's death in 1946, Thomas's family prayed at her tomb, and after applying a relic, the deformity resolved without medical intervention or surgery, allowing him to walk normally. The case underwent extensive medical scrutiny by diocesan authorities and the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, with physicians testifying that the healing was scientifically inexplicable, leading to papal approval on July 9, 1985
