New Delhi (Fides Service) - “The more we suffer for our faith in Jesus Christ, the more the Catholic community of India will grow and be edified by our witness”. This conviction was expressed by Poor Clare Sister Maria Rani murdered ten years ago in 1995 by a fundamentalist Hindu in the central northern state of Madhya Pradesh. Her process of beatification has just been started by Indore diocese. The news was announced by Bishop Gorge Anathil who recalled that the nun died a martyr, that is, she was killed out of hatred for the faith “in odium fidei”. Sr Maria Rani was stabbed to death by a Hindu extremist who inflicted 50 wounds on the poor body of the nun. The man was arrested.
Sr Maria belonged to a local religious institution founded in Kerala as part of the Franciscan family with a charisma for contemplation and apostolic work She was 40 when she died a martyr. She spent most of her day helping poor families and this was also the reason why she was killed by the man who accused her of proselytising. “She is an example for our community - the Bishop said- an encouragement to continue our service of the poor without fear”. Among the material being examined by the diocesan court, testimony from a woman religious said to have been cured of cancer after praying for the intercession of Sr Maria.
Catholics in India hope for the beatification of another local nun Carmelite Sister Eufrasia who process is being examined by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.
Sr Eufrasia known as Mother of Prayer born in 1887 in Kerala and who died in 1952 in a Carmelite in Ollur was proclaimed a Servant of God in 1987 and Venerable in 2002.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2005 righe 26 parole 268)