Mariam Vattalil
Indian activist and nun, murdered (1954–1995)
Feast: 25 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 23 March 2017 — Martyrdom recognised (decree list, 2017)
Who they were
Mariam Vattalil was born on 29 January 1954 at Pulluvazhy, Kerala, India, to Syro-Malabar Catholic parents. On 3 July 1972 she entered the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, the institute of St Alphonsa.
On the morning of 25 February 1995, travelling by bus from Udainagar to Indore, Sister Rani Maria was killed by a hired assassin with fifty-four stab wounds. Her mother and family forgave the killer.
The miracles
As a martyr, beatified without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Franciscan sister who bore witness to Christ with love and gentleness and died a martyr.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Regina Maria Vattalil
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q7292986 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Mariam Vattalil (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.