The cultural diversity of India has always been the cause of celebration. It is from this tradition of pluralism that the best of India has emerged. This only underlines the danger of the pronounced tendency towards monism and fundamentalism that is often visible within Indian culture and society. The recent attacks on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka and the rise of Hindu and Muslim fundamentalism are examples of movements that run counter to India’s rich history and praxis of cultural diversity. It is somewhat apt that together with the news of violence against Christians has come the news that the Roman Catholic Church in India will have its first woman saint when Sister Alphonsa is canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 12. This is a special honour for India, more so because it goes to a woman. Not too many people, outside a select circle, know of Sister Alphonsa, who died at the age of 36 after a life of terrible physical suffering. This only goes to show that she carried out her piety away from the limelight and she sought her solace from her God rather than from public acclaim. The sense of sacrifice and selflessness that she brought to her life are the hallmarks of holiness of all the religions associated with Indian culture.

Sister Alphonsa was born in a village near Kottayam in Kerala, and her name, before she became a nun, was Anna Muttathupadathu. Her beatification, by which the Roman Church accepted that she had indeed gone to heaven, was ordained in 1986 by Pope John Paul II. In 2007, her canonization was authorized after a one-year-old boy, born with a physical disability, began to walk a day after he was taken to Sister Alphonsa’s grave. This was taken as a miracle, the performance of which is essential for a person’s canonization. These are the necessary details that underline the significance of the canonization for Indian society. It demonstrates that the work of Christian missionaries, contrary to what some Hindu fundamentalists are propagating, were integral to Indian society, and posed no threat whatsoever. The calling of good works associated with the work of Christian missionaries has become, over the years, a part of the rich heritage of India. The recognition of that work, even by those who do not believe in miracles, is, in fact, a recognition of the pluralistic tradition of India. The sainthood of a nun from Kerala is India’s moment of pride.