A New Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in America Msgr. Dr. Thomas Naickamprambil is the first Bishop

The announcement is made simultaneously in Vatican and St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum at 3.30 pm Indian time. The erection of the exarchate and appointments were also publicized in Washington, July 14, by Msgr. Jean-François Lantheaume, Chargé d’Affaires, at the apostolic nunciature in the United States. Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, the Father and the Head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and other Metropolitans and Bishops were present at the announcement function held at Pattom. A large gathering including Priests, Religious and Faithful received the announcement with a big applause. The Bishop-elect was invested with the Episcopal insignia. All present congratulated the Bishop-designate.

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in North America.

The Syro-Malankara Catholics who migrated to the continent of America began to gather in New York in 1984 with the blessings of Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregorios of happy memory. Later, such communities organized themselves in various parts of America. In 2001 Pope John Paul II of happy memory appointed Most Rev. Isaac Mar Cleemis (at present Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos) the first Apostolic Visitator of the Malankara Faithful in America. On 10 May 2002 Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of happy memory submitted an application to the Holy See to erect an Eparchy in America. When Most Rev. Isaac Mar Cleemis was appointed the Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Tiruvalla, Most Rev. Joseph Mar Thomas was appointed the new Apostolic Visitator on 15 December 2006. On 25 January 2010, Most Rev. Joseph Mar Thomas was appointed the Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Bathery. Now the Holy See has erected the Exarchate for the Malankarites in North America. It will be known as the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in North America. The Head Quarters of the new Exarchate will be Mar Ivanios Malankara Catholic Center (950 Hill Avenue) in New Hyde Park, New York. The Malankara Catholic Church in Long Island is the main parish of this new Exarchate. At present there are 16 parishes and 15 mission stations for the Malankara Catholic Church in North America. Around 1000 Malankara Catholic families and 10,000 members are in the new Exarchate. There are 30 priests and 34 religious rendering their ministry in this region. Three Bethany convents and seven convents of the Daughters of Mary are in the new Exarchate.

Bishop-Designate Msgr. Dr. Thomas Naickamparambil

Rev. Fr. Thomas was born on 6 June 1961 at Mylapra in Pathanamthitta District of the Eparchy of Pathanamthitta. Mr. N.T. Varughese and Mrs. Sosamma Varughese of Naickamparambil family are his parents. His home parish is Sacred Heart Malankara Catholic Church, Mylapra. After completing schooling from Govt U.P. School Moozhiyar and Sacred Heart High School, Mylapra, he joined St. Aloysious Minor Seminary, Pattom, Trivandrum. On passing Pre-Degree from Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum, he was send to the Papal Seminary, Pune where he completed priestly formation. On 29 December 1986 he was ordained a priest by Benedict Mar Gregorios of happy memory. He secured a Masters Degree in Philosophy from Jnana Deepa Vidhya Peeth, Pune and took Doctorate in Philosophy from the Gregorian University, Rome.

Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio has been appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal

Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio has been appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal on May 8, 2010. He succeeds Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana.

He was born in Marano (Naples) Italy on 7 September 1952. He was ordained a priest on 18 September 1976. He holds a Doctorate in Philosophy and entered into the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See on 15 April, 1979. He served in the Apostolic Nunciature in Panama, Ethiopia, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Ireland. On 20 September 2003, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia, and Apostolic Delegate in Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia and Brunei. He speaks English, French and Spanish.

Two seminarians drown in Kerala

Two seminarians of the Syro-Malankara Church have drowned in Kerala, southern India.

S. Jayachandran, a fire and rescue services official, told that the accident occurred on April 18 when three seminarians tried to learn swimming in a pool constructed for harvesting rainwater.

He said two of them, Joseph Shijin and Varghese Dominic, drowned while the third seminarian swam to safety.

They were students of St. Mary’s Malankara Major Seminary in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital.

Seminary rector Father John Kochuthundiyil told the mishap has shocked his Oriental Church.

The funeral is scheduled for April 19 evening.

Major Archbishop to lead the consecration at St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, Niranam

The consecration of the reconstructed St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church at Niranam will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

Major Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Cleemis Mar Baselios will lead the consecration service. Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvalla Thomas Mar Koorilos will be the co-celebrant.

The Major Archbishop and other dignitaries will be accorded a reception on their arrival at the Kadapra junction at 2 p.m. The first phase of the consecration ceremony will begin at 2.45 p.m.

A public meeting will also be held in connection with the consecration ceremony on the church premises at 4.30 p.m. Minister for Public Works P.J. Joseph will inaugurate the meeting and the Major Archbishop will preside over the function. Archbishop Thomas Mar Koorilos will welcome the gathering. P.K. Narayana Panicker, Nair Service Society general secretary, will release a souvenir.

Puttur Syro-Malankara Catholic diocese comes into being

The first diocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the State was opened at Noojibalthila, near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada, on Thursday.

Geevarghese Mar Divannasios took charge as the first Bishop at a religious ceremony.

He was earlier the Bishop of Sulthan Bathery Diocese in Wayanad, Kerala.

Major Archbishop of the Malankara Catholic Church Moran Mor Baselios Cleeemis Catholicos; Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras; Bishop of Belthangady Lawrence Mukkuzhy; Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP; and B. Ramanatha Rai, MLA, were among those present. Bishops from other parts of the State and outside, who attended the ceremony, felicitated the new Bishop. The Puttur Diocese has 22 churches under it spread across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Mandya, Mysore, Shimoga and Chamarajanagar districts.

Malankara diocese of Puttur opens in Karnataka this week

Rev. Dr. John Kochuthundil is appointed the Rector of the Malankara Major Seminary

Pathanamthitta Diocese inaugurated

The senior Metropolitan of Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar Philipose Mar Chrysostum, has called upon churches in India to work together for the uplift of society as a whole.

Mar Chrysostum was inaugurating the public meeting held in connection with the inaugural ceremony of the Pathanamthitta diocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church at the District Stadium here on Saturday.

He said initiatives should be taken for the uplift of people in the below poverty line (BPL) category in a time-bound manner, making it a role model to the rest of the country.

Mar Chrysostum said the newly formed Syro-Malankara Catholic Church diocese and its bishop, Youhanon Mar Chrysostum, would join hands with other churches as well as like-minded people and organisations for the welfare and development of society and the region as a whole. Major Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Baselius Cleemis Catholicos presided over the meeting.

Minister for Public Works P.J. Joseph, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, P.J.Kurien, Rajya Sabha member, Anto Antony, MP, K.Sivadasan Nair, MLA were among those who addressed the public function.

Installation of Youhanon Mar Chrysostum as the first bishop of the Pathanamthitta diocese was held at a function at the Sacred Heart Church at Mylapra, in the afternoon. The Catholicos led the installation service.

Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvalla Thomas Mar Coorilos and bishops Geevarghese Mar Divannaseus, Joshua Mar Ignatheos, Geevarghese Mar Themotheos, Abraham Mar Eulios, Jacob Mar Barnabas, Joseph Mar Thomas, Vincent Mar Paulose, Samuel Mar Ireneus, Philipose Mar Stephanos and Thomas Mar Anthonios, were the co-celebrants.

The new bishop was seated on a throne and lifted three times by the priests to mark the installation.

Each time the throne was lifted, the priests chanted ‘Oxios’, a Syriac word which means ‘he is eligible’ and the entire gathering chorused ‘Oxios.’ Changanacherry Archbishop, Mar Joseph Perunthottom, delivered the benedictory speech.

Installation of Most Rev Dr. Vincent Mar Paulose

The Third Metropolitan of the eparchy of Marthandom, Most Rev. Vincent Mar Paulose installed as the new Metropolitan of the Eparchy on 14 March 2010. Before the the Installation ceremony, Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom together with the priests, religious and other faithful gave a warm welcome to the Major Archbishop, Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos and His Beatitude Gregory III Laham Patriarch and other Episcopal dignitaries at Marthandom Junction.  The Installation programme started with the prayer lead by Catholicos in Christuraja Cathedral, Marthandom. Then the Chancellor of the Eparchy, Fr. S. John read the appointment decree of the new Metropolitan. Then Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos together with the Metropolitans of the Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church officiated the installation ceremonies. The presence of the foreign dignitaries led by the Patriarch of Melkite blessed the ceremonies. Mar George Alencherry of Thukkley, Mar Vincent Samuel of Neyyatinkara, Mar Sylvester Ponnumuthan of Neyyatinkara and Bishop Devakadaksham of the CSI Kanyakumari are also present in the function. The installation programme is followed by public meeting to felicitate the new metropolitan. Many priests, religious and lay faithful were present during the programme.

Vincent Mar Paulos (Very Rev. Dr. Vincent Kulapuravilai) was born on 20 February 1964 hails from Kumarankudy in the District of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and belongs to the Eparchy of Marthandom.  His parents are Kochupillai and Maria Thangam.  After completing Higher Secondary Education at Yettacode, he joined the St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Trivandrum.  He took his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary and degree in Theology from St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Kottayam.  He was ordained Priest at his home parish Annakarai on 2 January 1991 by Most Rev. Benedict Mar Gregorios.  He did his Master’s Degree in History and professionally qualified himself with B. Ed.  He obtained a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology from Rome.  He served the Eparchy of Marthandom in various capacities like Parish Priest, Protopresbyter, Correspondent of MSC schools, Member of Education Board, Director of Children for Unity and Member of the Commission for Liturgy.  Presently he is Professor and Registrar of St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary.  Besides English and Tamil, he knows Malayalam, German, Italian, Spanish and Syriac.

The present bishop of Marthandom, Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom
is transfered to the new see of Pathanamthitta
and Very Rev. Fr. Vincent Kulapuravilai,
the Professor and Registrar of St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary Trivandrum
is appointed the bishop of Marthandom.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias Elected the New CBCI President