Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception FCC, also known as Saint Alphonsa, was an Indian Catholic nun and educator. She was the first woman of Indian origin to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church, and the first canonised saint of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala.

Who is the first saint in Kerala?

Though Kerala is considered as the cradle of Christianity in south Asia, the state had to wait since 1956 to get a saint. It got the first saint with the canonisation of Sr Alphonsa (1910-1946) of Pala in Kottayam district in 2008. Since then, two more from the state have been sanctified.

When was alphonsa baptized?

Born as Annakkutty (that is, "little Anna") in Kudamaloor, a village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India, to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu, she was baptized on August 27, 1910, at Saint Mary's Church in Kudamaloor under the patronage of Saint Anna.