Indian nun Venerable Eliswa Vakayil, also hailed as ‘Kerala’s first religious nun’, will be declared ‘blessed’ during the solemn Eucharistic celebration on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom, Vallarpadam, Kerala, India. The papal approval of the beatification was confirmed by Sr. Shahila CTC, Superior General of the Teresian Congregation, which she founded. Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Malaysian prelate and Bishop of Penang, will proclaim her as ‘Blessed’ during the solemn beatification ceremony, which will also have Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal, Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly, and Fr. General Miguel Marquez Calle, Superior General of the Discalced Carmelite Order, as participants among several other dignitaries of the Church. Born in Ochanthuruth, Vypeen, on October 15, 1831, as the daughter of Vyppissery Thomman and Thanda, Eliswa was married at the age of 16, and had a daughter in wedlock, but was widowed before long. Years later, along with her daughter Anna and sibling Thresia, Eliswa opted for religious life, founding the Teresian congregation for women today known as the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites. She further contributed to women's empowerment by setting up the first school, boarding house, and orphanage for girls in Kerala. She passed away at the age of 82 on July 18, 1913. Recognizing her legacy, holiness, and her invaluable contributions to religious life, especially of women, she was declared the Servant of God on May 30, 2008, and was elevated as ‘Venerable’ in November, 2023. On 14 April 2025, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to her intercession, which opened the door for her beatification.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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