ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY
Saints celebrated on the 25th of February
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
BL. REGINA MARIA VATTALIL, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
Rani Maria was born on January 29, 1954, as the second of seven children of Paily and Eliswa Vattalil at Pulluvazhy, a small village near Kochi, Kerala, India.
She joined Franciscan Clarist Convent at Kidangoor near Palai in 1972 and made her first profession on May 1, 1974, and chose the name Rani (queen) Maria. She began her mission in northern India in Bijnore in 1975 and then came to Udainagar in 1992.
The nun, during her initial years in the mission, showed keen interest in educating children through formal and non-formal methods. This slowly gave way to a much wider field of development of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalised.
A HIRED KILLER
The nun was 41 when Samandar Singh, hired by some landlords, stabbed her inside a bus on February 25, 1995. She was travelling to Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state, en route her native place in Kerala, southern India. The attacker followed her when she ran out of the crowded bus and continued to stab her. She died on the roadside at Nachanbore Hill, near Indore.
SHE FOUGHT FOR THE LABOURERS' JUST WAGES
She was buried at Udaingar in Dewas district where she had worked among poor landless agricultural labourers and others to fight for just wages and other rights. This upset the landlords.
The developmental programmes among poor tribals she was involved in went against to the vested interests of unscrupulous moneylenders and social exploiters.
HEROIC FORGIVENESS
The slain nun’s family made international headlines when it accepted Singh as a member after forgiving him. Their forgiveness helped Singh to regret his action. He now leads an exemplary life in his village in central India after serving his life term.
THE BEATIFICATION PROCESS
As part of her beatification process, on November 18, 2016 Bishop Chacko Thottumarikal of Indore supervised the opening of the slain nun’s tomb and shifted the mortal remains to a church.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the “nihil obstat” (‘nothing against’) to the cause. The subsequent diocesan process took place in Indore from June 29, 2005, to June 28, 2007. It received the congregation’s validation on November 27, 2009.
"THE SEEDS OF LOVE AND JUSTICE AND BROTHERHOOD"
The C.C.S. received the Positio in 2014 and passed it onto consulting theologians who on February 11, 2016, voiced their approval to the cause. The congregation’s website says the saintly nun’s courageous sacrifice and martyrdom has helped sow “the seed of love and justice and brotherhood in many hearts.”
THE BEATIFICATION
She was beatified on November 4, 2017 at the St Paul Institute of Professional Studies in Indore, India with Cardinal Angelo Amato as the chief celebrant.
(Source for Biography: Matters India - Information from Radio Vatican:
http://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2017/03/23/rani_maria_cleared_for_beatification/en-1300759)
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