Catholic Fire

Today, July 27th, the Church celebrates St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, the first woman saint of India. Annakkutty (little Anna) was born on August 19, 1910, in Kudamaloor, a village in Kerala, India, to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu, the youngest of five children. She was baptized eight days later at Saint Mary's Church in Kudamaloor.  Her mother died while Annakutty was still an infant. She was raised by her maternal aunt, and educated by her great-uncle Father Joseph Muttathupadathu. Annakutty made her first Communion on November 27, 1917. In a letter to her Spiritual Father in November, 1943, she wrote: "Already from the age of seven I was no longer mine. I was totally dedicated to my Divine Spouse.” At the age of 13, Anna was badly burned on her feet when she fell into a pit of burning chaff. This accident left her permanently disabled. At the age of 20, Anna joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation.  During this time, she worked as a temporary t...

Vilakannur: More than 10,000 people gathered at a village church under Tellicherry archdiocese in Kerala after news spread that Jesus’s face appeared on the Sacred Bread during morning Mass. The archdiocese has rushed a team to investigate the phenomenon that occurred at Christ the King Church, Vilakannur, some 50 kilometers east of Kannur town. “The Church does not encourage popularizing such incidents,” Parish priest Fr. Thomas Pathickal, 60, told mattersindia.com. The 60-year-old priest, who came to the parish three years ago, said he has followed the instruction of Archbishop George Valiamattam of Tellicherry to keep the “miracle” host locked inside the tabernacle and hold prayers in the church. More than 500 people are now praying in the church as they wait for the archdiocesan investigation team to decide on the public display of the host. Read more.

February 8, 2013. (Romereports.com) Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will travel as the Pope's special envoy to the 50 anniversary celebrations of the Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health in Vailankanni, India. This website takes users on a virtual tour and allows them to learn more about this neo-Gothic Catholic sanctuary, which has a capacity for about 15,000 people. The Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health, located in southern India, by the Gulf of Bengal, is the most important pilgrimage site for Catholic in India. Nearly two million people travel each year to the small city to venerate the Virgin Mary, known here as the “Lourdes of the East.” When a monstrous tsunami ravaged Indonesia in 2004, it also affected the area around Vailankanni. However, the sanctuary emerged unscathed from the devastation.