Euphrasia Eluvathingal
Indian Carmelite sister and saint (1877–1952)
Feast: 29 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 3 April 2014 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2014)
Who they were
Rose Eluvathingal was born in Kerala, India, on 17 October 1877 and became a sister of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel, taking the name Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart.
She spent most of her life in the convent at Ollur, near Thrissur, where people knew her as the 'praying mother' for the hours she spent in prayer. She died there on 29 August 1952.
The miracles
Thomas Tharakan, a carpenter — Thrissur, Kerala, India — 1997-98
A furniture polisher from Ollur was diagnosed with bone cancer at Jubilee Mission Hospital, Thrissur, on 4 December 1997, after severe pain in his leg and hip. His sister prayed to Mother Euphrasia. Before the operation the surgeon took another scan and found no sign of the tumour, which had been clear on the earlier one.
A second miracle was approved on 3 April 2014 for her canonisation.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of Thomas Tharakan, a carpenter was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 2006, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 3 December 2006 by Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, for Benedict XVI. Canonisation followed on 23 November 2014 by Francis.
Connected on this site
- John the Baptist Saint“John the Baptist is celebrated on 29 August, the feast of St.” — Wikipedia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decree of 3 Apr 2014
- AsiaNews - Sister Euphrasia Eluvathingal, the 'mother who prays', is Saint
- Wikipedia - Euphrasia Eluvathingal
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q2085614 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Euphrasia Eluvathingal (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.