A woman of vision - who set out for the uplift of the families convinced the potential of women and the need for their education committed for the salvation of souls
A woman of courage - A courageous and empowered women who ventured Family Apostolate breaking away all the social norms and restrictions on women trusting in God
A woman of prayer– Who reached the ultimate union with God living always in His loving presence.
Mariam Thresia was born in 1876 when Kerala and Puthenchira. Chiramel Mankidiyan is a very famous family of Puthenchira. There are three branches: Ollur, Aranattukara and Pazhuvil for this family. This Mankidiyan family belongs to the Ollur branch. There have been some famous priests and nuns from this Chiramel family. Since one of the ancestors had been the head of the village for a long period and there have been a few Mankidiyan families, the area is still known as ‘Mankidimukku’. It is a historical fact that one Mathew from the Chiramel Tharakan family saved the Maharaja of Cochin from the invasion of the Zamorin of Kozhikode, and for that he was given the hereditary title of ‘Tharakan’. All these bear witness to the fame of the Mankidiyan family.
Mariam Thresia was born as the third child of Thoma Chiramel Mankidiyan and Thanda from the Mangali family of Thuravoor, on Wednesday 26, April 1876. Following the custom, she was baptized seven days after her birth on Wednesday 3 May 1876 in the parish church of Puthenchira by the parish priest, Fr. Poulose Maliekal Koonan. She was given the name Thresia after St. Teresa of Avila. The godparents were Antony Chiramel Mankidyan, her paternal uncle, and his wife Anna. Since her mother had a deep knowledge of God, She could impart proper faith formation to her child Thresia. Mariam Thresia always had an inner quest to know more about God and the divine mystery. It led her towards God and interior life who said “From child hood my soul pained with intense thirst to love God” (Autobiography). This thirst might have helped her exclaim that “The knowledge of God is the greatest knowledge than every other knowledge” (Exhortation 14).
When her mother Thanda died in the year 1888, Thresia was only 12 years old. She adopted the Blessed Mother as her own mother and found consolation in it. After the death of her mother she received all sorrows, pains and hardships with surprising equanimity. She was consoled by the celestial visions, especially those of the Holy Family when she was tortured by the devil with trials and tribulations. Mariam Thresia had undergone severe diabolic attacks, physical tortures and mental agonies. Eventually she conquered the powers of darkness and exorcised the evil Spirit from the places and the persons while ministering the families. She was blessed with mystical experiences. Jesus would come to her often in different forms from her younger days. The name ‘Mariam’ was added by the Blessed Virgin Mary to her name ‘Thresia’ to make her ‘Mariam Thresia’ on 8 December 1904. The Holy Family would comfort direct dine and play with her as though she were a member in the Holy Family. She was given the hearts of Jesus Mary and Joseph during the years 1904-1906. Even though the signs of the passion of the Lord had begun to be shown in her from 1905, God imprinted in her the five wounds of Jesus visibly in 1909, thus making her the stigmatic in India. Jesus would celebrate the Holy Eucharist in her room and give her the Holy Communion. She used to fall in to ecstasies which sometimes lasted for the following day. Her heart was fierce with an arrow by the angel on five different occasions revealing about it to the spiritual father as, ‘wound of love’. Jesus put a stone studded ring on her hand symbolizing the spiritual betrothal. She was blessed with the gift of a reading hearts and visions of purgatory, hell and heaven a number of times. She was a mystic in action who amalgamated contemplation and action.
This courageous daughter of Kerala who was filled with love of God and compassion towards the neighbor dedicated her whole life to God for serving the family or domestic church which is the basic unit of society. God had been preparing Thresia for thirty-eight long years through temptations, sufferings and misunderstandings to be the foundress of the Congregation of the Holy Family. She who wished very much to be united with God in solitude and His children in service was sent by the then Vicar Apostolic of Trichur Bishop. John Menachery to the Carmelite Convent at Ollur. But Mariam Thresia realized that her way of life was different from that of the Carmelites. She informed her spiritual father of this. The people of Puthenchira, who understood the value of her services, requested the bishop to bring her back to them. Bishop Menachery could easily discern the will of God regarding Thresia when he considered together the desire of Thresia, the opinion of Fr. Joseph Vithayathil and the wish of the people of Puthenchira. So he said, “It is not the will of God that you stay in this convent, so you may return to your own place. Your spiritual father will build a house for you there”. Saying this, the bishop sent Mariam Thresia back home on 26 January 1913, after two months of discernment process at Ollur. The bishop asked Fr. Vithayathil to build the “Ekanthabhavan” (The House of Solitude) for Thresia.
Mariam Thresia responded to the situation in the grass – root level gathered the families guided them to God and deepened their relation ships in the families in an innovative way. She offered her life to sanctify and uplift the families with a transformative spiritual touch, and prompted the people to live as the children of God by compassionate services. Mariam Thresia visited, consoled, counseled, prayed and led every kind of family to God. During the family visits she would offer prayers, mortifications and services for the restoration of persons and families to main strata of religious and social life. Her visits to the families with prophetic fortitude were scorned by a few. She had to swim against the current to get accepted this novel style of Family Apostolate by the society and the hierarchy of the church. They yielded finally to the evidence of the good results of it.
As instructed by the bishop, Fr. Joseph Vithayathil made plans to construct the House of Solitude. The land for the building was donated by Maliekal Koonan Kunjuvaried Ittoop. Fr. Joseph Vithayathil started the construction at his own expense. When it reached up to the plinth-level, he found it difficult to continue the work for lack of funds. Mariam Thresia comforted him, saying that she would find the money needed by begging. With much reluctance he agreed to it. She went with a companion to Njarakal, Chakkarakadavu, Pallipuram which at present is in Ernakulam Diocese and other nearby places seeking help. And within a short time, the House of Solitude was completed.
As Fr. Joseph Vithayathil was not feeling well, he sent Thresia and a companion with a letter to the bishop, seeking permission to bless the house. The next day, 23 September 1913 the bishop deputed his secretary, Fr. John Ukkan, to bless the House. In the presence of Fr.Joseph Vithayathil, other priests and parishioners of Puthenchira, Fr. John Ukkan blessed the House of Solitude. The people of the place met all the expenses for the same. Mariam Thresia, who loved solitude very much moved to the newly blessed house on 7 October 1913. Her companions: Mariam, daughter of Varunny and Rosa Karumalikkal, Kochumariam, daughter of Ittiera and Acharu Maliekal Koonan, and Thanda, daughter of Kunjuvaried and Thresia Maliekal Koonan were with her during the day for prayers and apostolic activities. They took turns in staying with Mariam Thresia at night. They started to live with her from January 1914 onwards. On 14 May, 1914, this community was elevated to the status of religious congregation – Congrergation of the Holy Family (CHF)
Mariam Thresia could start three convents in the land donated by the people who were attracted by her holiness and admired her services in the families. Mariam Thresia who touched the core of the families was enlightened by the wisdom that it was necessary to impart the knowledge of God to uplift the families. This insight was appreciated and encouraged by Fr. Joseph Vithayathil. Thus the Holy Family School came to existence in 1915 at Puthenchira, her birthplace. Mariam Thresia’ s foresight gave form to another new vision , A boarding house was founded in 1918 in Thrissur to provide English Education to the daughters of CHF. The fragrance of Thresia’s life started to spread far and wide. As many joined her to follow the new way of life, the first house could not accommodate all. Convents came to existence at Kuzhikkattussery in 1918 and at Thumbur in 1926 through the strong divine intervention. Along with convents schools were also added.
At the time of the blessing of the convent and chapel at Thumbur six Postulants received the veil and seven Novices were given the religious habit. On account of the rush of the people assembled, a portion of the railings of the sanctuary collapsed and fell on Saint Mariam Thresia’s leg as she was kneeling and praying there. She did not take the wound seriously. She was taken to a doctor at the Government Hospital, Chalakudy, who prescribed for an operation. After the operation she was kept in a building of the diocese adjacent to the hospital. Even though she was given all the care and attention in the treatment because she had high diabetes, the doctor felt that the disease was serious. Her condition started deteriorating gradually. When it worsened and was declared fatal, she was brought to Kuzhikkattussery on 7 June 1926 and Fr. Joseph Vithayathil gave her the anointment of the sick and the holy viaticum.
The following day the Sisters and the formees of the convents of Thumbur and Trichur came and joined with the Sisters of Kuzhikkattussery and Fr. Joseph Vithayathil and prayed for her. She called all of them near and spoke her last words, “My beloved daughters, why are your hearts troubled like those of people of little faith? Both You and I know that I shall not be relieved of this illness. If it is the will of the heavenly Bridegroom that I leave you this soon in responding to His invitation, let it be fulfilled. Our congregation is still an infant. You should not forget that it is your responsibility as members of this Congregation to foster and nurture it. Behave with sincerity and love your superiors. Love each another, help each another”.
After this farewell note, she entrusted Fr. Joseph Vithayathil the whole responsibility of the congregation. Thereafter at her own request she was laid down on the floor on a mat while her spiritual father and the Sisters knelt down and prayed for her. She kept repeating the ejaculations very prayerfully and consciously after her spiritual father. Saint Mariam Thresia was very peaceful and calm at the moment of intense pain and suffering and submitted to the will of God.
In the evening her condition became critical. Fr. Joseph Kayyalakam, the vicar of Puthenchira church, came there, at her last moments. At 10 p.m. repeating the ejaculatory prayer after Fr.Joseph Vithayathil “Jesus, Mary, Joseph I entrust my soul and my body into your loving hands” the blessed soul passed away for her eternal reward. The house was filled with deep silence and great sorrow. During that night of tears and sobs, surprisingly all the jasmines blossomed in the garden. A crown of jasmine flowers was placed on the head of Saint Mariam Thresia and the coffin was decorated with it. The people who believed in her holiness thronged to have a glimpse of the ‘saint’.
The whole of Puthenchira stood still at the departure of Saint Mariam Thresia. As Bishop Francis Vazhapilly, was out of station, Msgr. Mathew Edakulathur, Vicar General of Trichur Diocese, officiated at the funeral service at 6.00 p.m. on 9 June 1926 in the presence of Fr.Joseph Vithayathil and many other Priests, Sisters, Brothers, the public and the sorrowful members of the congregation. The body was buried with tearful prayers in the tomb specially prepared in the ground of the chapel under construction. Rev. Fr. Joseph Kayyalakam, the vicar of Puthenchira church, delivered the homily. He narrated her holy life, her apostolate and the growth of the CHF in a very touching manner. He concluded his words saying, “though this funeral is conducted in a very simple manner, the time will come when another saint like the ‘Little Flower’ will rise up from this tomb.
Read More...