Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan

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Former cell of Mariam Thresia Chiramel in the convent of the Congregation of the Holy Family in Kuzhikkattussery

Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (also Maria Teresa Chiramel Mankidiyan ; born April 26, 1876 in the village of Puthenchira, Trichur District , Kerala , India ; † June 8, 1926 in Kuzhikkattussery , Trichur District, India) was a religious sister of the Syro-Malabar Church and founder of the Religious Congregation of the Holy Family . She is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church .

Life

Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan was born on April 26, 1876, the third child of Thoma and Thanda Chiramel Mankidiyan. She had two brothers and two sisters. On May 3, 1876, she was baptized in the name of Thresia after St. Teresa of Ávila . Since the father of Thoma Chiramel Mankidiyan had to raise the dowry for seven daughters, the originally wealthy family with extensive estates became impoverished. Thresia's father and older brother became ill with alcoholism. In a short autobiographical document that Thresia later wrote down, she emphasizes that from the age of ten she always wanted to serve God. She fasted four times a week and said the rosary several times a day . At the same age, she also took a vow of perpetual virginity. Thresia's mother tried to have a moderating effect on her daughter's ascetic exercises.

When her mother died in 1888, the twelve-year-old had to drop out of school. She took over the cleaning of the parish church with three other girls with whom she lived in a shared apartment . She helped the poor, cared for leprosy and smallpox and looked after orphans . In order to fulfill these charitable tasks, Thresia and her companions traveled independently in public, for which they were heavily criticized, also by clerics. Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan said she felt safe under the protection of the Holy Family. According to tradition, she now had frequent visions, especially of Jesus and Mary, which are said to have prompted her to pray, fast and convert sinners. She then resumed the ascetic practices of her childhood. In addition, according to the biographical information published by the Vatican, she is said to have carried stigmata of her that were hidden from the public . Her mystical experiences included regular levitations on Fridays . Many people are said to have gathered on these Fridays to see them hanging on the wall in the pose of the cross. Therefore, on the instructions of the Vicar Apostolic of Trichur , John Menachery, the pastor of her parish, Joseph Vithayathil, subjected her to several exorcisms between 1902 and 1905 without the experiences ceasing. Her holiness has been called into question because of these events. Joseph Vithayathil, however, did not doubt their holy life and became their spiritual guide.

Foundation of the Congregation of the Holy Family

In 1903, Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan asked the Vicar Apostolic of Trichur, John Menachery, to build a house for contemplative prayer and meditation with a small group of women . As local bishop, Menachery did not accept this request, but suggested that she join the existing religious order of the Poor Clares , which she did not feel called to do. Thresia wanted to be called Mariam Thresia since 1904 and explained that in 1904 she had been asked in a vision by the Blessed Virgin Mary to add the Mariam ("Maria") to her first name .

In 1913 she received permission from Bishop Menachery to found a house of prayer, in which she then lived with her three former co-workers. The women of the community lived in strict asceticism and visited the sick and needy. On May 14, 1914, Bishop John Menachery canonically established the Congregation of the Holy Family and at the same time accepted the profession of Chiramel Mankidiyans, who took the religious name of Mariam Thresia . The other three women were accepted as postulants . Mariam Thresia took over the leadership of the community, while the diocesan priest Joseph Vithayathil was appointed spiritual . The new congregation adopted the order of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux , who had already established a religious establishment in Sri Lanka . Until her death, Mother Mariam Thresia built three branches of the new congregation, two schools, two boarding schools , a study house and an orphanage . In 1926 the congregation had 55 nuns. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan also left 55 letters, with two exceptions addressed to her spiritual.

Canonization

Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan suffered from untreated diabetes. A non-healing leg injury resulted in her death on June 8, 1926. Joseph Vithayathil continued to accompany the community as a spiritual director until he died in 1964. Chiramel Mankidiyan was soon reputed to be holy, and many miracles were attributed to her intercession.

In 1971 the beatification process began . The collected documents were presented to the episcopal commission in 1983 and 15 eyewitnesses were heard. On June 28, 1999, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a decree establishing the “heroic degree of virtue” and making Mother Mariam Venerable Servant of God . After the canonical recognition of several miracles on January 27, 2000 as the final prerequisite for beatification, Pope John Paul II beatified mother Mariam Thresia on April 9, 2000. On February 12, 2019, Pope Francis confirmed a miracle attributed to the intercession of Maria Teresa Chiramel Mankidiyan - the name given by the Vatican - as the final prerequisite for canonization; it took place on October 13, 2019. The feast day of St. Maria Teresa is celebrated on June 8, there is also a festival of the religious order on April 26.

literature

  • Paul Burns: Vol. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Founder . In: Butler's Lives of the Saints. The Third Millennium . Burns & Oates, London / New York 2005, pp. 144 f.
  • Shashi Tharoor: The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power . Penguin Books India, London 2007, pp. 222-225.

Web links

Commons : Maria Theresa Chiramel  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 13, 2019, accessed February 13, 2019 (Italian).
  2. Pilgrim Center Kuzhikkattussery. In: Mala.co.in. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010 ; accessed on March 5, 2020 .
  3. a b c d e f g h i j Paul Burns: Vol. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Founder , London / New York 2005, p. 144.
  4. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876–1926) on vatican.va of November 25, 2002 (Italian; accessed March 17, 2020).
  5. ^ A b Shashi Tharoor: The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power , London 2007, p. 223.
  6. a b Mother Mariam Thresia Mankidiyan: From silent mystic to apostle of the family. In: Vatican News. October 12, 2019, accessed March 6, 2020.
  7. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876–1926) on vatican.va of November 25, 2002 (accessed March 17, 2020); Mother Mariam Thresia Mankidiyan: From silent mystic to apostle of the family on vaticannews.va (accessed March 17, 2020).
  8. a b c d Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876–1926) on vatican.va of November 25, 2002 (accessed March 17, 2020).
  9. a b c d e f g Paul Burns: Vol. Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Founder , London / New York 2005, p. 145.
  10. Shashi Tharoor: The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power , London 2007, p. 222.
  11. ^ Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 13, 2019, accessed February 13, 2019 (Italian).
  12. ^ Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico per il Voto su alcune Cause di Canonizzazione. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, July 1, 2019, accessed July 1, 2019 (Italian).
  13. Cappella Papale presieduta since Papa Francesco con il rito della canonizzazione di 5 Beati. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, October 13, 2019, accessed October 13, 2019 (Italian).