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7 Indian sisters to be canonised on Oct 1

Even as Catholics in the country eagerly await the canonisation of Mother Teresa, seven sisters of the Fransiscan Missionaries of Mary, founded in India in 1877, will be raised to sainthood by Pope John Paul II on October 1.

The seven sisters are among the 120 bishops, priests, lay people and religious persons who were "martyred" in China in 1900 and will be canonised or raised to sainthood by the Pope at the St Peter's Square in Rome, according to an FMM release.

"For the FMM sisters in India, this honour has a special meaning for it was in India (Udhagamandalam or Ooty) that the congregation of the Mary of Passion was founded in 1877 and it was she, the first Superior General and foundress of this congregation who sent the seven sisters to China," it said.

The seven sisters, who worked for a small Christian community in Taiyuan-fu in China's Shansi province, were put to death on July 9, 1900 in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion which called for the expulsion of all foreigners from China, to preserve the purity of China's soul.

"In these troubled times in our country, when minorities, especially the Christian community is plagued by apprehensions, uncertainty and insecurity, the message of the seven nuns attains greater significance," the release said.

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