|
Thousands of believers thronged the tombs of Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871) and Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952) as Pope Francis II formally declared them as saints at the Vatican yesterday. |
The priest is revered across regions and religious communities in Kerala for spreading the message of empowerment through education and the nun dedicated her life to the service inspired by him were among the six who were conferred with sainthood.
The other four new saints eligible for public veneration were Italians.
Besides special prayers and celebrations at the tomb of the priest at Mannanam in Kottayam and Ollur in Thrissur where the nun was interred, processions were taken out in cities and town across the state welcoming the new saints.
Bells pealed in many Catholic churches as the function took place in the Vatican.
Hundreds of thousands of people watched the at the canonisation ceremony, televised live by India’s major national as well as regional televisions, from their homes and at public venues in parishes.
Governor P Sathasivam inaugurated the celebrations in the state capital while Chief Minister Oommen Chandy attended a mass in his hometown of Puthuppally.
Nearly 4,000 people from Kerala, including P J Kurien, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, Kerala ministers P J Joseph and K C Joseph, and 25 bishops attended the ceremony in Rome.
India’s Catholics now have three native saints to seek intercession-all from the southern Indian state, whose 19% of population is Christian, and from the same denomination of Syro Malabar Church.
Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam, also in Kottayam, became the first native saint in 2008.
Cardinal Mar George Alenchery of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, who led a brief prayer session after the ceremony, said to get two saints on one day was a historic blessing.
“Am so happy that God has blessed us all through this historic event and we have now two saints and that happened on a single day, so today is very special,” he told a television channel on phone from Vatican city.
Prayers began at the St Mary’s Church, Ollur, at 7am. Sr. Euphrasia was Mother Superior at the St. Mary’s Convent there.
St Joseph’s Monastery at Mannanam, where the mortal remains of the priest were interred after initial burial at Koonammavu in Kochi, also witnessed thousands of devotees gathering for prayers and sharing joy. A rosary rally was held there.
Chandy inaugurated a public meeting while his finance minister K M Mani inaugurated the housing projects being implemented as part of the celebrations.Mani also flagged off a water procession along River Pampa at Kainakary the ancestral village of Chavara.
Chavara Achen and Evuprasiamma, as they are popularly known in Kerala, were cleared by the Pope for sainthood on April 3.
Kuriakose Chavara was born February 10, 1805, at Kainakary near Alappuzha as the son of Iko Kuriakose Chavara and Mariam Thoppil. At the young age of 13, he began his priesthood studies.
He entered the seminary in 1818 and was ordained November 29, 1829. Chavara became Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Verapoly (near Kochi) in 1861.
Chavara was also a social reformer and believed that intellectual development and education of women was the first step towards overall social welfare.
He first introduced the system called “A school along with every church”, which was successful in making free education available for everyone.
He died January 3, 1871, aged 65.
Sister Euphrasia was born as Rosa Eluvathingal October 7, 1877, at Edathuruthy (Ollur) in Thrissur district. She joined Congregation of the Mother of Carmel and received her veil as a nun in May 1900.
She died August 29, 1952.
Sister Euphrasia was declared a Servant of God in 1987, followed by Venerable July 5, 2002.
She was declared as “Blessed” December 3, 2006, by Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil, the Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar church.
The two of them also belong to the same Carmelite congregation of the Syro Malabar Catholic church in the state and more importantly the women’s congregation was founded by Chavara Achen.
On November 29, the church will hold a thanksgiving mass and public meeting in the port city of Kochi , to be attended by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the papal ambassador to India, and Chandy.
