Alphonsa Muttathupadathu of Bharanaganam is the first
Indian woman to be canonized to full sainthood.
She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and was
officially declared a saint on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Forty years after her death, on February 8, 1986
, Pope John Paul II had beatified her at Kottayam.
On June 1, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorised her canonization.
