KOCHI: Pope Leo XIV has approved the elevation of Mother Eliswa, the first nun of the Kerala Catholic Church and founder of the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites (TOCD) for women in India, to the rank of ‘blessed’. The declaration will be made on November 8, 2025, 112 years after her death, at 4.30pm at Vallarpadam Basilica, the national pilgrimage centre of the Blessed Mother.
The main celebrant of the Holy Mass will be Cardinal Dr Sebastian Francis, Bishop of the Diocese of Penang, Malaysia. Apostolic Nuncio to India, Archbishop Dr Leo Paul Girelli, Archbishop of Varapuzha archdiocese Dr Joseph Kalathiparambil, General of the Carmelite Congregation worldwide Fr Miguel Marks Calle OCD, Postulator General Fr Marco Chiesa OCD, and other cardinals, metropolitans, bishops, and priests from in and outside India will co-celebrate these holy rites.
Mother Eliswa founded the TODC for women in Koonammavu on February 13, 1866, and initiated women’s empowerment by starting the first school, boarding house, and orphanage for girls in Kerala. Twenty four years later, on September 17, 1890, the TOCD nuns were divided on the basis of the rite, and two congregations were formed.