Kerala’s first nun to be declared ‘blessed’—who was Mother Eliswa Vakayil

Thiruvananthapuram: Mother Eliswa Vakayil, considered the first nun in the history of the Kerala Catholic Church, is remembered for empowering women and building Kerala’s first convent. She will be declared ‘blessed’ Saturday, over 100 years after her death.

Eliswa Vakayil founded India’s first indigenous Carmelite community for women—the Third Order Carmelites. This community later became known as the Teresian Carmelite Sisters.

The event is the result of years of work by the Kerala Catholic Church, which began studying and spreading the story of Mother Eliswa in the early 2000s. Show Full Article

The declaration will be a public event at the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom at Vallarpadam, Ernakulam, Saturday evening. Several functionaries of the National Catholic Bishops’ Council wil