Mother Eliswa Vakayil, first nun of Kerala’s Catholic Church, declared Blessed

Mother Eliswa Vakayil, the first nun in the history of the Catholic Church in Kerala and the founder of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites (TOCD), was formally declared “Blessed” on Saturday at a solemn ceremony held at the National Marian Pilgrimage Centre, the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom, Vallarpadom here.

Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang, Malaysia, and papal delegate representing Pope Leo XIV, officially proclaimed Mother Eliswa as Blessed after Varapuzha Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil formally petitioned for the declaration of beatification of the nun, considered as a trailblazer in women’s religious life in Kerala.

The declaration was made 112 years after her death at a spiritual ceremony attended by thousands of devotees, clergy and representatives of different religious orders.

Addressing the gathering, Cardinal Sebastian Francis said, “Mother Eliswa teaches that the choice to become a saint will not be easy but it will be worth it in a world faced with moral confusion and spiritual hunger, gender inequality and familial breakdown, ecclesial divisions and cultural upheaval, and all other challenges of family, church and society”.

Relics installed

Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli conveyed the message on the occasion while Cardinal Oswald Gracias unveiled the devotional image of Blessed Mother Eliswa. The relics of Mother Eliswa were then installed at the altar.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) president Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath released the Novena of Blessed Mother Eliswa, and Kerala Region Latin Catholic Bishops Council (KRLCBC) president Archbishop Varghese Chakkalakal released the souvenir commemorating the occasion. Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil released a coffee-table book by presenting the first copy to Mother Shahila, Superior General of CTC.

Born on October 15, 1831, at Ochanthuruth in the vicariate of Varapuzha, Eliswa chose the consecrated life after the untimely death of her husband in 1851 which pushed her to a solitary life devoted to contemplative prayer. She is remembered for making a decisive contribution to the history of the Catholic Church in Kerala by establishing the region’s first convent school, boarding house, and orphanage for girls. She died on July 18, 1913, and was laid to rest at St. Joseph’s Convent in Varapuzha. Her tomb has since become a site of pilgrimage.

She was declared a Servant of God on March 6, 2008, and proclaimed Venerable by Pope Francis on November 8, 2023, in recognition of her virtues and sanctity of life. On April 14, 2025, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Mother Eliswa. Subsequently, Pope Leo declared the date of her Beatification on November 8, 2025.

For her eventual canonisation as Saint, one further miracle attributed to her intercession has to be duly verified and officially approved by the Holy See.