The beatifica-tion of Sr Rani Maria has seen the elevation of her home parish in Kerala as a pilgri-mage centre of the Syro-Malabar Church. The St Thomas Church at Pulluvazhi near Perumbavoor has been declared a pilgrimage centre by Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop Cardinal Mar George Alencherry on Nov 20.
Sr Rani Maria was beatified in Indore earlier this month. The nun was stabbed to death 23 years ago by a goon hired by landlords peeved at her work among landless labourers in a Madhya Pradesh village. In a rare act of forgiveness, her family accepted the assassin as a member of the family.
Sunday’s ceremony started with a procession carrying the blessed nun’s relics.
