Proof set: Saint Alphonsa

Alphonsa proof set cover
Alphonsa proof set obverse

Reverse

Alphonsa 100 rupee obverse

Alphonsa 100 rupee reverse

Mumbai mint mark

Alphonsa 5 rupee

Alphonsa Mutthapadathu was born in 1910 in village Kudamaloor near Kottayam in Kerala. She had a difficult childhood plagued by poverty and illness. She fell into a pit of burning chaff and both here feet got deformed, leaving her handicapped. In 1936, she was miraculously cured by saint Therese of Lisieux. She taught at a school and there are a large number of miracles associated with her, many of which involved curing children having clubbed feet as she herself had been disabled by her feet for many years. In 1939 she had an attack of double-pneumonia which left her weakened and she died in 1946 after a painful illness. In 1985, Pope John Paul II formally approved a miracle that was attributed to her and she received the title of Venerable Sister Alphonsa. One year later, she was beatified. On the 50 years of her death, a stamp was released as the first sign of national recognition to her. Pope Benedict XVI authorized her canonization in 2007 and the process was completed after an year, meaning that Alphonsa is now the first woman and only the second saint from India after Saint Gonsalo Garcia.

Apart from this coin set, a stamp was also released to commemorate the canonization of Alphonsa. I have that stamp as well in my collection.

Composition