"How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord hosts!" (Ps 84/1)
Arpookkara, a small hamlet of Kudamaloor, in the district of Kottayam had a beautiful house ,restled among the palm groves and girdled by the shadows of the drooping palm leaves. A branch of river Meenachil flowed by the side of that house. St.Alphonsa, the first feminine flower of sanctity of India was born in that house on 19th August 1910.Mary and Joseph Muttathupadathu were her parents. Her birthplace is only 15kms from Kumarakom, the famous tourist centre, 200kms from Munnar and 114kms from Thekkedy .Mannanam,where the mortal remains of Bl.Kuriakose Elias Chavara rest is only 5kms from this place.
