Blessed Euphrasia Eluvathingal | |
|---|---|
| File:Euphrasia Eluvathingal.JPG Blessed Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, C.M.C. | |
| Born | October 7, 1877 Edathuruthy, Kerala, British India |
| Died | August 29, 1952 Ollur, Kerala, India |
| Venerated in | Syro-Malabar Church (Carmelites) |
| Beatified | December 3, 2006, Ollur by Mar Varkey Vithayathil |
| Feast | August 29 |
Blessed Euphrasia Eluvathingal or Sister Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus C.M.C. (October 7, 1877 – August 29, 1952) was an Indian Carmelite Religious Sister of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches which are in communion with the Holy See of Rome.[1][2][3]
Euphrasia Eluvathingal (Rosa) was born on October 17, 1877, in the village of Kattoor, in Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur in Thrissur district. Rosa was the eldest child of Eluvathingal Cherpukaran Antony and Kunjethy. On the 8th day, she was baptised in the Edathuruthy church. At the age of 12th, she joined boarding attached to the first indigenous Carmelite community founded by Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Rev. Leopold Beccaro 1866 at Koonammavu in Ernakulam district.
She was born Rosa Eluvathingal on 7 October 1877, in the village of Kattoor, near the city of Thrissur in Kerala, India. Her parents were Cherpukaran Antony and Kunjethy Eluvathingal, who were wealthy landowners. She was baptized on 25 October 1877 in the Mother of Carmel Church in Edathuruthy Her mother was a devout Catholic, who taught her to pray the rosary and to participate in the Mass.[4]
From the stories that her mother told her, especially about St. Rose of Lima, after whom she had been named, Rose grew up with a strong desire to practice a virtuous life, to suffer for Jesus and to be holy, and to do all this in a quiet, hidden manner. This all took deeper root when, at the age of nine, Rose experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which led her to make a commitment never to marry, and to commit her entire life to God.[1]
In 1897, Mar John Menachery, the first native Bishop of Thrissur, established a Carmelite Convent in Ambazakad (now belonging to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda ). Then he brought from Koonammavu all who belonged to his Diocese including Rosa on May 9. On the next day Rosa received her headdress and the name “Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”, and in 1898 the Religious Habit of Carmel. Euphrasia took her perpetual vows on 24 May 1900 during the blessing of the newly founded convent at Ollur.
After she took her perpetual vows, she was appointed assistant to the Novice Mistress. Though frail in health, Euphrasia exhibited rare moral courage, spiritual power and a very high sense of responsibility and so she was soon appointed Novice Mistress of the Congregation in which position she worked for nine years. After this she was made Mother Superior of St. Mary’s Convent, Ollur. Prayer was her life breath wherever she was. Hence people called her the "Praying Mother" and “the mobile tabernacle.”[5][6][7]
As she grew older, Rose desired to enter the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel, the first indigenous congregation of Religious Sisters in the Syro-Malabar Church, who follow the Rule of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites. She was opposed in this by her father, however, who wanted to arrange a marriage for her with the son of some of the other prosperous families in the region. She spent the next two years in prayer, fasting and acts of penance, to the degree that she was seriously ill for much of this period. Seeing her resolve, her father finally relented, and himself accompanied her to the convent.[4]
Rose entered the congregation on 3 July 1888 at their convent in Koonammavu, at the age of ten.[4] When she reached her maturity, she was received as a postulant on 10 May 1897, taking the name Sister Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and was admitted to the novitiate of the congregation on 10 January 1898.[1] The constant ill health she experienced, however, threatened her life in the convent, as the Superiors considered dismissing her due to it. Sister Euphrasia soon had a vision of the Holy Family, at which point the illness she had long felt ceased. Sister Euphrasia made her solemn profession on 24 May 1900.[1]
She was appointed as the Novice Mistress of the congregation in 1904, in which office she served until 1913, being then called Mother Euphrasia. She was appointed Superior of the Sisters' convent in Ollur in 1913, where she was to live the rest of her life, serving as Mother Superior until 1916.[1] Despite these duties, she endeavored to lead a life of constant prayer and of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, constantly trying to atone for the sins committed against him, becoming known by many people as the "Praying Mother."[4] Mother Euphrasia spent much of her day in the convent chapel before the Blessed Sacrament, to which she had a strong devotion. She also nourished a great love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a result of which, she would promote devotion to the Eucharist and to the Rosary to all those with whom she came into contact.[1]
Mother Euphrasia died on 29 August 1952 in Ollur, Thrissur, Kerala, India of natural causes.
Euphrasia died on August 29, 1952 at Ollur Convent in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur where she is buried later. Her tomb in Ollur Convent has become a pilgrimage site as miracles have been reported by some faithful. The miracle attributed to her beatification and approved by the Vatican was the healing of the carpenter from bone cancer.
She was declared Venerable on July 5, 2002 by Pope John Paul II. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on December 3, 2006. Her feast day is August 29.
Mar Joseph Kundukulam, the Archbishop of Thrissur, started the initial steps for the beatification process as he instituted the Diocesan Tribunal for the Cause of Mother Euphrasia in 1987 by declaring her as 'Servant of God'. When Pope John Paul II on July 5, 2002, declared the heroic practice of the theological virtues and the cardinal virtues of Euphrasia, she was called 'Venerable'. On June 26, 2006 when Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the miracle done through her intercession, all steps in the process of beatification were completed.
On December 3, 2006, she was beatified in St. Anthony's Forane Church, Ollur, Thrissur, with the declaration of the Major Archbishop, Varkey Vithayathil on behalf of the Pope Benedict XVI. Apostolic nuncio to India Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana and Archbishop Jacob Thoomkuzhy of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur joined 30 prelates and 500 priests for the beatification events. Ollur parish belongs to Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur, part of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the two Catholic Oriental-rites based in Kerala.
Blessed Euphrasia Eluvathingal or Sister Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (October 7, 1877 – August 29, 1952) is the fifth Syro-Malabar Catholic Church nun and a member of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 2006.[8]<
