“God will give eternal life to those who convert sinners and bring them to the right path.”
Tresia was born in 1876 near Thrissur in the Southern part of India. The Mankidiyan family was once rich but after her grandfather married off 7 daughters, selling property for each dowry, they became poor.
As a young girl, she dedicated herself to the Lord and practiced severe fasts and night vigils. She also made a private vow to remain chaste and was moved by an intense desire to love God. Her worried mother desperately tried to discourage her from these activities as she had become so thin.
In her 20s she became heavily involved in helping the poor, nursing the sick and comforting the lonely of her parish. She desired a formal area where her and her friends could continue their work and in 1903, They approached the Archbishop to build a house of retreat. They were denied. She was recommended towards several Congregations and after trying them out, she declined as she didn’t feel a calling towards them.
In 1914 she founded the Congregation of the Holy Family and became the superior, taking the name Mariam. They led a life of prayer and strict penance but continued to visit the sick, poor and needy.
In 1926 she sustained a leg wound which continued to get worse as it was exacerbated from her diabetes. She was admitted to the local hospital. She was deemed fatal, moved back to the convent where she received her final sacraments and the Viaticum, and died the following day on June 8th.
Throughout much of her life, Thresia received several different spiritual experiences like prophecy, healing, and aura of light. She also bore stigmata, but she kept it hidden from the public. She was tormented by diabolical attacks and vexations throughout her life and Bishops wondered if she might be a plaything for the devil. For several years she was subjected to several different exorcisms under the Bishops orders.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph; I give you my heart and my soul” were her last words.
She was canonized in 2019.
She is the patron saint of families and the Congregation of the Holy Family.
Her feast day is June 6.
For God’s Glory.
