India’s first indigenous Catholic nun beatified, moves closer to sainthood
KCO Staff - November 2025
India’s first indigenous Catholic nun has been declared Blessed, moving her a step closer to sainthood, during a ceremony attended by thousands at a Marian shrine in southern Kerala on Nov. 8.
Malaysian Cardinal Sebastian Francis of Penang, representing Pope Francis, formally proclaimed Mother Eliswa Vakayil (1831–1913) as Blessed during a solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom on Vallarpadom Island, near Kochi.
“Mother Eliswa can relate to every wife, pregnant woman, mother, single mother, and widow after the death of her husband,” Cardinal Francis said, noting that she had been a wife and mother before embracing religious life.
“She allowed God to reshape her identity as a bride of Christ and a spiritual mother to many.”
Mother Eliswa, also known as Mother Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded the first indigenous Carmelite religious order for women in India, the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites, in 1866. The congregation was later renamed the Teresian Carmelite Sisters (CTC).
Married at 16, she became a widow and mother to a daughter by age 20, but she refused remarriage. In 1862, when her child was 12, she expressed her desire to live a life “consecrated to God,” leading to the creation of the first women’s religious congregation started by an Indian woman.
She was joined by her daughter Annal and sister Thresia as the order’s first members.
The Vatican recognized a miracle attributed to Mother Eliswa’s intercession — the healing of an unborn baby girl diagnosed with a cleft lip at 34 weeks of pregnancy in 2005 in Ernakulam, Kerala.
Cardinal Francis described it as “a miracle in the womb,” calling it a divine sign of her sanctity.
“Now, Mother Eliswa is a step closer to sainthood,” the cardinal told the faithful, urging prayers for a second miracle required for canonization.
Eliswa’s legacy includes founding Kerala’s first convent school, boarding house, and orphanage for girls. Her work opened the way for generations of Indian women to pursue religious vocations and education.
She was declared a Servant of God in 2008 and Venerable by Pope Francis in 2023 for her virtuous life. Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to her intercession in April 2025, paving the way for her beatification.
At the ceremony, Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly formally requested her beatification, while Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), released a novena prayer in her honor.
Currently, the Teresian Carmelite Sisters have over 200 convents and 1,500 members serving in India and abroad, including the United States, Africa, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain. (Courtsey:ucanews.com)
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