Pope canonizes Indian nun

KERALA, India, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI Sunday formally canonized Sister Alphonsa as the first Indian woman to be elevated to sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church.

The nun, who died in 1946 at the age of 35 after a series of illnesses, was canonized in a ceremony at the Vatican while thousands of worshippers surrounded her tomb in India at Barnanganam near Kottayam, Press Trust of India reported.

The miracle attributed to her, and approved by the Vatican for her canonization, was the healing of the club foot of a baby in 1999, Press Trust reported, noting thousands of people makes annual pilgrimages to her tomb.