The relic of the saint was placed in a niche in the prayer hall of St Xavier’s Loyola Church.
With the relics of two saints of the catholic church being installed in Ahmedabad, the city may well become a major place of pilgrimage for followers of the world's pre-dominant religion. On Sunday a primary relic (piece of the body) of St Alphonsa of Kerala — the only woman Catholic saint of India — was placed in a niche in the main prayer hall of the St Xavier's Loyola Church, Memnagar, as more than 3000 people, some of them non-Christians and including 250 families from Kerala, paid homage.
In November, the mortal remains of St Jude, one of Jesus Christ's disciples, were deposited in St Jude's Church, Thaltej. The Rev Father Thomas Macwan, bishop of Ahmedabad who presided over a two-hour High Mass along with 12 other priests at the school's assembly hall, extolled the virtues of St. Alphonsa, who was born in a town near Kottayam on August 19, 1910 and who was canonised on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
"St Alphonsa suffered all her life for the reparation of her sins," he said. "The sacrifices she made all her life enabled her to join the pantheon of Catholic saints who have been revered down the ages in all countries," he added.
Father KC Thomas SJ priest of Loyola Church said, "It's a day of great privilege and prestige for Loyola Church to have the relic of St. Alphonsa. There are few churches in Kerala which have relics containing the mortal remains of St. Alphonsa." "Outside Kerala, Ahmedabad is the first city to get the relic of the saint," said Thomas.
St Alphonsa, or Anna as she was christened, wanted to devote her life to religion at a young age, but her family wanted the pretty young woman to get married. In order to avoid that sacrament, Anna jumped into a burning pit and got both her legs badly burned. The injuries put paid to the marriage plans and finally, in 1936, after much study and prayer, Anna became Sister Alphonsa. After a life that was largely one of suffering and her death in 1946, miraculous occurrences around her body were reported by the people of her state, country and then the entire world. Her canonisation by Pope Benedict in 2008 took place only 62 years after her death, which is a relatively short period for sanctiness.
It was due to the efforts of PT Chacko, representative of the Catholics of Loyola Parish, Fr Freddy Desouza, parish priest, and Fr KC Thomas, Malayalee Parish priest, Loyola, that the mortal remains of St Alphonsa could be brought here. It was the only instance of her remnants being sent out of her home state.
Only a few kilometres away from Loyola lie the remains of St Jude, Christ's apostle, in St Jude's Church. It augurs well for the small but vibrant Catholic community that two pre-eminent places of Christian worship stand relatively close to each other in our city.
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