Mother Eliswa Vakayil, the first Catholic nun in the Kerala Catholic Church history and pioneer of women education in the southern Indian state, was beatified on November 8 at a solemn ceremony in Kochi. Cardinal Sebastian Francis, a Malaysian prelate with Indian roots and representative of Pope Leo XIV, made the formal proclamation during a service that began at 4:30 pm in the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom at Vallarpadam, a suburb of Kochi.
The beatification, which took place 112 years after Mother Eliswa’s death, is the third in the four-stage canonization process. The beatification began with the reading of an apostolic letter on the papal delegate’s declaration. The unveiling of Mother Eliswa’s statue followed, amid hymns of praise. A relic of the nun was placed in the church.
Mother Eliswa was declared a Servant of God on March 6, 2008, by Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of Verapoly. The Vatican declared her a Venerable on Nov. 8, 2023. Pope Francis approved the decree to beatify her on April 14, seven days before his death. As part of the procedure, the Pope had approved a miracle attributed to Mother Eliswa.
Mother Eliswa (1831-1913) is credited for empowering women founding India’s first indigenous community for women— the Third Order Discalced Carmelite Congregation (TOCD). The first convent was set up in 1866 at Koonammavu, some 20 km north of Ernakulam. Mother Eliswa’s daughter, Anna, and her sister Thresia, who shared her charism, were the co-foundresses. Initially, the congregation had members from both the Latin and Syro-Malabar rites. After 24 years, the congregation split into two, with the Latin branch becoming the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (CTC) and the Syrian branch the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC).
