Archdiocese to honour country’s first woman martyr on Feb 19

PANAJI
Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao along with the faithful in Goa will celebrate a solemn thanksgiving Eucharist for Blessed Rani Maria, the first Indian woman martyr, at Se Cathedral, Old Goa, on February 19 at 4.30 pm.  
“The life of Bl. Rani Maria is a real witness of the life of a true Christian. We should be all inspired by her way of life of prayer and service to the poor,” Archbishop Ferrao had said, on his arrival after the Beatification celebration on November 4, 2017. 
Born on January 29, 1954, at Pulluvazhi, Kerala, Rani Maria had a special liking for the poor at a very young age and she joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) in 1972. 
She took her first vows in 1974 and was assigned to Bijnor for mission Apostolate. After serving in Bijnor, she was then transferred to Satna and later in 1992 to Udainagar.  
A champion for the poor and very especially for the marginalized, Sr Rani Maria began organizing people who were being exploited for years by money lenders. Her Self Help Groups, one of the first of SHGs of the entire Dewas district, helped the poor and downtrodden to break away from the clutches of established money lenders. 
This annoyed the rich and powerful of the locality. Despite being warned several times to keep herself away, Sr Rani Maria was vocal in matters of social justice and in social activism, which led to her death at the hands of those who were opposed to her efforts in aiding the poor and downtrodden. 
On February 25, 1995, she was to travel to Bhopal to catch a train to Kerala. On her way, a contract killer, Samandar Singh, was induced to attack her fatally. On the Nachanbor Ghats, she was stabbed fifty four times in front of over 50 co-passengers and was dragged out of the bus. 
Samandar was later sentenced for twenty years. But, Swami Sadanand, who was associated with Prison Ministry Movement India, persuaded the family to forgive Samandar. 
Finally, Sr Selmi FCC visited Samandar in the prison on a Rakhi day and tied Rakhi on his wrists. Sr Rani Maria’s family too unconditionally forgave Samandar and accepted him as a member of their family. During the Beatification celebration in Indore, a solemn declaration of venerable and blessed Sr Rani Maria took place when Cardinal Angelo Amato read out of the Apostolic Letter (Letter from Pope) in Latin during the Holy Mass, followed by Cardinal George Alencherry in English and by Cardinal Telesphore Toppo in Hindi. 
In his homily, Vatican representative, Cardinal Angelo Amato, said: “Sr Rani Maria died to promote the value of Justice. She was called an apostle of smile and also the apostle of the poor who faced injustice.”