India's First Woman Saint to be Canonised

(11 Oct 08 - RV) Pope Benedict will tomorrow canonise India’s first woman Saint in a ceremony in St Peter’s Square. Sr Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception spent most of her life in a Clarist convent of the Fransican Order in the small town of Bharananganam. Pope John Paul the II beatified her during a trip to India in 1985 and a miracle attributed to her in 1999 paved the way for her canonisation. We spoke to the Superior General of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, Sr Ceelia, who told us more about how Sr Alphonsa’s elevation to Sainthood will be celebrated locally.