Sister Mariam Thresia, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, was declared a saint by Pope Francis at a grand ceremony in Vatican City on October 13, 2019.
Mariam Thresia is the fourth saint from Kerala, other three being St Alphonsa, St Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St Euphrasia. Three of them are women and St Alphonsa was the first from the country to receive sainthood.
Mariam Thresia , who hailed from Thrissur district in Kerala, was canonised along with English Cardinal John Henry Newman, Swiss laywoman Marguerite Bays, Brazilian nun Dulce Lopes, and Italian nun Giuseppina Vannini.
Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan led the Indian delegation, including T.N. Prathapan, MP; former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph; and family members of the saint, to Vatican.
About Mariam Thresia
Mariam Thresia was born in Puthenchira, a village in Thrissur district, on April 26, 1876 as the third daughter of Chiramel Mankidiyan Thoma and Thanda.
In 1914, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family. She served as a nun for 11 years.
She died at Kuzhikkattussery on June 8, 1926 at the age of 50. She was declared venerable in June 1999 and beatified on April 9, 2000.
Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to her in 2009. A medical team from Vatican accepted on March 22, 2018 that a baby boy with life-threatening respiratory problems had been cured with her intercession.
