Dublin's Catholic Indian community is celebrating the canonisation of their country's first female saint.
They attended Mass in Mary Immaculate Church in Inchicore as Pope Benedict XVI elevated Sister Alphonsa Muttathupadathu to sainthood in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.
The nun who was born in Kerela State in 1910 was so determined to enter a convent that she deliberately stepped into a fire to disfigure her feet so that her aunt would stop pressuring her to marry.
She was plagued by serious illness but was known for her stoicism and compassion.
Sister Alphonsa died in 1946 at the age of 36.
Many miracles have been attributed to her, especially by those seeking relief from ill health.
In India, Church bells rang in India's southern Kerala state and firecrackers went off as Pope Benedict elevated the country's first woman to sainthood.
Local church authorities in the town of Bharananganam in Kerala state arranged for the live telecast of the ceremony at the Vatican
An Italian priest, a nun from Switzerland, Maria Bernarda Butler and a lay woman from Ecuador, Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, are also being canonised today.
