{"id":2096,"date":"2026-02-20T10:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/stjude\/?page_id=2096"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:40:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T09:40:50","slug":"our-founder","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/?page_id=2096","title":{"rendered":"OUR FOUNDRESS"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2096\" class=\"elementor elementor-2096\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11344619 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"11344619\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1448a2c5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"1448a2c5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2581c195 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2581c195\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Our Foundress<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d12a840 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"1d12a840\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f33740 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2f33740\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a31434b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a31434b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8e9d765 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8e9d765\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca5fb43 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ca5fb43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/FOUNDER.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-111\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/FOUNDER.jpg 675w, https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/FOUNDER-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/FOUNDER-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f045eb e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1f045eb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-38cba72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"38cba72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Blessed Mother Eliswa, who hailed from Ochanthuruth in Vypeen, was the founder of the first Carmelite congregation for women in India. She was also the first nun from Kerala and is said to have established the first convent in the State and the first school for girls north of the Periyar. Before she became a nun, Eliswa, born in October 1831, was the eldest of eight siblings from the wealthy and religious Vypussery family of Ochanthuruth. At the age of 16, Eliswa, whose name is a Malayalam version of the name Elizabeth, was married off to VareedVakayil, an older businessman from Koonammavu near Varapuzha. Vareed Vakayil and Eliswa had a daughter named Anna and later her husband Vareed passed away, leaving Eliswa as a widow at the age of 20.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e7a0ce5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e7a0ce5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The custom at the time dictated that the young, wealthy widow would have to remarry. But Eliswa declined all proposals and spent her time in prayer and care of the poor. She longed to spend the rest of her life in the service of God. A simple hut with a thatched roof was constructed near the Vakayil family\u2019s house at Koonammavu. The thatched hut and its surroundings have now been recreated by the Church and are kept as a museum chronicling the life of Mother Eliswa.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-df2efed e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"df2efed\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c87ffa e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2c87ffa\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02bce6f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"02bce6f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">In 1862, Eliswa spoke about her desire to serve God to her parish priest, a young Italian named Fr. Leopold. The rest has gone into the history of how the Third Order of the Carmelite Discalced (TOCD) was formed.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f15f13f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f15f13f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">In 1866, the first nuns from Kerala formed the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (CTC) under TOCD. The first convent was a simple bamboo-mat house at Koonammavu, and the congregation, under Blessed Mother Eliswa, was given the task of teaching girls who had no means to pursue education. St. Joseph\u2019s LP School at Koonammavu was set up in 1868 as the first Catholic school for girls in Malabar. Blessed Mother Eliswa\u2019s mission in life was to educate young girls and she set up several girls\u2019 schools here.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bb922f9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bb922f9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">When she moved to Varapuzha after the separation of the Latin and Syrian rites of the Church, St. Joseph\u2019s School for Girls at Varapuzha was set up. Blessed Mother Eliswa breathed her last on July 18, 1913, at the convent near the Varapuzha school.\nToday, the order has around 1,400 nuns in 171 convents around the country. Over the 100 years after the death of Blessed Mother Eliswa, the Carmelite order in the country grew in size and extended its operations in the field of women\u2019s education and welfare.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Foundress Blessed Mother Eliswa, who hailed from Ochanthuruth in Vypeen, was the founder of the first Carmelite congregation for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2096","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjudeps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}