India to soon get its first Catholic female saint

India is to have its first female saint when Pope Benedict XVI canonizes Sister Alphonsa October 12 at the Vatican, media reports said Friday. As preparations were under way to elevate the nun 62 years after her death, hundreds of Christian devotees from her home state of Kerala in southern India were on their way to the Vatican to attend the ceremony, the NDTV network reported. “It is a matter of great joy for the Indian Christian community that one of its believers is being canonized,” Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesman for the New Delhi archdiocese, told The Times of India. “The Christian community here is excited,” he said. “... We believe there is one more saint in heaven for India to pray to.” Born Anna Muttathupandathu on August 19, 1910, in the Kottayam district, the nun is said to have divine powers that have cured many people. Read Article