Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception

Anna Muttathupadathu, called Annakutty, was born on August 19, 1910, at Kudamaloor in Kerala, India, into a Syro-Malabar Catholic family. Her mother died when she was a baby, and she was raised by an aunt who wanted to arrange a good marriage for her. Determined to belong to God alone, she deliberately burned her feet as a young girl so that she would be unattractive for marriage, an act she later regretted as imprudent, but which showed the strength of her desire.

She joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at Bharananganam, taking the name Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, and made her final vows in 1936. Almost her whole religious life was marked by illness and pain, which she accepted with remarkable cheerfulness, offering her sufferings for others. She died on July 28, 1946, at age 35. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 12, 2008.

Her tomb at Bharananganam, in Kerala, is one of India's most visited pilgrimage sites, especially during the festival around her feast from July 19 to 28. Indian Catholic communities around the world, especially Syro-Malabar parishes, celebrate her with Masses and processions.