Sr. Rani Maria Vattalil will be beatified on Saturday, November 4, 2017, at Indore, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India announced November 2, 2017.
Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside over the Ceremony. All four Indian Cardinals, the Apostolic Nuncio to India, nearly 50 Bishops and hundreds of Priests, Sisters and lay faithful will participate in the Solemn Ceremony.
Sister Rani Maria Vattalil, a member of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, was slain on 25th February, 1995. According to the Police, she was stabbed 54 times in front of more than 50 bus passengers in a jungle area near Udainagar (Madhya Pradesh) allegedly at the behest of moneylenders affected by the nun’s social work among village women, who were organizing self-help groups.
The Beatification of Sister Rani Maria is a declaration by the Pope as head of the Church that the deceased Sister had died a martyr’s death and is now dwelling in heaven. As a process, the beatification involved a long examination of the life, virtues, writings, and reputation for holiness. Sister Rani Maria will now be called “Blessed” and may be venerated by the faithful in India
Samandar Singh, the man who served a prison term for the 1995 murder of Sr. Rani, told Asia News in 2010, “I accept full responsibility for my heinous murder of Sr. Rani Maria. I cannot say that I was instigated, because my own hands stabbed her repeatedly and for this, I will regret my actions till the day I die.” He went on to say “In my own small way, I try to follow her example, helping those who are less fortunate than me, like Tribal Christians and all those who are marginalized.”
JF
