Sister Rani Maria is the first woman martyr in the Church of India. She is a religious nun who belongs to the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, was killed on 25 February 1995 in Udayanagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. On 4 November 2017, Cardinal Angelo Amato, Pope Francis’ representative, officially ordained Sister Rani Maria to the group of Blesseds of the Catholic Church.
Sister Rani Maria is the daughter of Paili and Elishwa of Vattal house Pulluvazhi in Ernakulam district of Kerala. After becoming a nun, she reached the Diocese of Indore on 16 May 1992 for missionary work. Sister proclaimed Christ among the poor in the dioceses of Bijnor, Satna, and Indore. Her activities have been of great help to people suffering from hunger and extreme poverty. Through the day and night efforts of the sister, the suffering and poverty of a people were eradicated from the village. She is a nun who was selflessly serving the poor. Once she said of her vocation and mission like this: “There is a power within which moves me forward courageously in the midst of opposition, failure, troubles, and difficulties. It is nothing else but the power of the Spirit of God. I have a strong conviction that I am chosen for the poor and oppressed. … I am happy to work for them because they are also God’s children, our brothers, and sisters.”
The sister was enabling the poor village of Uday Nagar to stand on its own two feet away from the slavery of the bourgeoisie. She taught them to deposit a portion of their income in the bank. They learn to cultivate and how to earn for a better livelihood. Some political leaders in the village did not like this. They thought of ways to kill the sister. For that, they hired a goonda named Samundar Singh. The hired goonda was offered a reward of Rs 25,000. At that time, the Malayalee sister had decided to pay a visit to her hometown in Kerala. Knowing this, the enemies took advantage of this opportunity. On 25 February 1995, Samundar Singh and his accomplices boarded the same bus that the sister had left on, hoping that the sister would never return to their homeland. The journey was through a rugged forest path. The vehicle started moving on the solitary road. As soon as she was in the seat, Sister took the rosary in her hand and started reciting it. When he reached a certain place, Samundar Singh asked the driver to stop the vehicle. As soon as the bus stopped, he jumped out with a coconut. It was thrown at a stone. It was then distributed to the passengers on the bus. After that, Samundar Singh approached the sister and said, “I am going to kill you.” Sister continued to pray, though a little anxious. Within a few seconds, he reached over to the sister and dragged the knife on the face. She tried to remove the knife from her face in a gentle way. But he stabbed the sister in the chest. The panicked people screamed and ran away. He stabbed her repeatedly all over her body.
Each time the knife pierced her body, the sister would call Jesus. The assailant was determined that the sister, who had been stabbed all over her body, would never come back to life. The 41-year-old nun had 54 stab wounds to her body. However, the killer retreated after cutting a nerve in his neck and confirming her death. When the Church officials and police arrived from Indore, they found the body of sister Rani Maria, full of blood, lying by the side of the road. God crowned his beloved daughter, who worked for the poor, with the red crown of His martyrdom. The body of sister Rani Maria was later buried at the Uday Nagar Sacred Heart Church in Indore. Now the church has been renamed the Church of the Blessed Rani Maria.
Later, the police investigations found Samundar Singh guilty and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment. But God allowed a great repent of the sinner through the family of Rani Maria. They forgave the killer of their beloved sister. So, the killer was later released from Jail on 22 August 2006. The day after his release from jail, he visited the tomb of sister Rani Maria in Mirzapur, Udaipur. Samundar arrived at Rani Maria’s grave and lay in the grave for a long time, weeping. Later, he went and prayed at the place where the martyrdom took place. He went to the monastery and apologized to the sisters. Later, on 20 January 2007, Samundar visited the sister’s home in Kerala and apologized to her parents and siblings. Although his daughter was killed, his parents accepted him as their son. A family that has followed Christ’s example of forgiving love.
When Sister Rani Maria was declared Blessed in 2017, it was most inspiring to the persecuted Christians in India. The martyrdom of the Sister had a great impact on the believers in the local Churches in Madhya Pradesh. The sister’s lifestyle encourages believers to stand firm in Christ in the midst of persecution and to profess faith in Jesus.