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The Archeparchy of Trichur, in Thrissur District of Central Kerala, India, with nearly half a million Syro-Malabar Catholics now, used to be the largest Catholic diocese in India when it included the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda until 1978 and Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palghat until 1973. Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda, also located in Thrissur District, has over a quarter million Syro-Malabar Catholics now. Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat in Central Kerala extends to some regions in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. In 2010, the parts of Tamil Nadu under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat were separated to form another Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ramanathapuram.
Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Trichur | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| Territory | Thrissur district |
| Metropolitan | Thrissur |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Total - Catholics | 2,018,635 470,056 |
| Parishes | 215 |
| Churches | 251 |
| Schools | 23 |
| Members | 460,848 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Syro-Malabar Church |
| Rite | East Syriac rite |
| Established | 20 May 1887 |
| Cathedral | Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral, |
| Co-cathedral | Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours |
| Patron saint | Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Major Archbishop | Raphael Thattil |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Andrews Thazhath |
| Auxiliary Bishops | Tony Neelankavil |
| Vicar General | Msgr. Jose Vallooran, Msgr. Jose Konikkara |
| Bishops emeritus | Jacob Thoomkuzhy |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www.trichurarchdiocese.org | |
The Archeparchy of Trichur was founded on 20 May 1887 by Pope Leo XIII by his papal bull Quod Jam Pridem now covers an area of 2000 Sq.Km and has a Catholic population of about 460848. There are 16 Foranes under the Archeparchy of Trichur. The total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. Diocese of Ramanathapuram, Diocese of Irinjalakuda and Diocese of Palghat are the suffragan dioceses of the Archeparchy. Cardinal Mar Raphael Thattil is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mar Andrews Thazhath is the Metropolitan Archbishop, Mar Tony Neelankavil is the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese and Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy is the Archbishop Emeritus.
History
editThe diocese was founded on 20 May 1887 by Pope Leo XIII by his papal bull Quod iam pridem. The boundaries of diocese were from Periyar (river) in Aluva to Bharathappuzha. Later it was extended to Palakkad district and extended to Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu and was the largest Catholic diocese in India.
Role in education
editRev. Medlycott has given a description about the state of facilities for education in the vicariate on his arrival in 1887 and on his return in 1896 as below:
The Vicariate of Trichur had a Catholic Syrian population of 108,422 with eighty-three parish churches and twenty-two chapels-of-ease, served by 118 priests of the Syrian Rite, besides 23 Syrian Carmelite Tertiary monks, in two monasteries; there was also a convent of 24 native Tertiary nuns with a middle-class school of 33 girls. The bishop on taking charge found that there were practically no schools, except one provided for clerics; he took early steps to open as many elementary parish schools as possible; within nine years (1888-96) the vicariate was provided with no less than 231 elementary parish schools for both sexes, educating over 12,000 children, besides a high school (St. Thomas's College), with 95 students; there were also 56 boys in St. Aloysius's High School, under the Tertiary monks.... plans were prepared to house the above college in a handsome structure. This was the condition of things when the bishop went to Europe on sick leave. [1]
Parishes and population
editThe total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. The population of Syro-Malabar Catholics in Thrissur Archdiocese is about 4,60,848. There are 16 foranes under Thrissur Archdiocese. They are:
| Serial No. | Forane | Parishes | Stations | Houses | Catholic Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lourdes Cathedral | 17 | 1 | 11746 | 59539 |
| 2 | Dolours' Basilica | 16 | 0 | 10095 | 54777 |
| 3 | Chelakara | 11 | 1 | 1615 | 8080 |
| 4 | Erumapetty | 11 | 1 | 2452 | 12285 |
| 5 | Kandassankadavu | 13 | 6 | 6933 | 39781 |
| 6 | Kottekad | 8 | 2 | 4994 | 26134 |
| 7 | Mattom | 8 | 5 | 3761 | 18471 |
| 8 | Ollur | 14 | 5 | 13372 | 63211 |
| 9 | Palayur | 14 | 2 | 5873 | 29696 |
| 10 | Parappur | 10 | 5 | 3783 | 17685 |
| 11 | Pattikad | 12 | 0 | 2609 | 13735 |
| 12 | Pazhuvil | 12 | 4 | 4425 | 24892 |
| 13 | Pudukad | 18 | 4 | 11038 | 61064 |
| 14 | Puthur | 10 | 0 | 3232 | 16040 |
| 15 | Velur | 13 | 2 | 3775 | 18528 |
| 16 | Wadakkanchery | 13 | 1 | 5174 | 26872 |
Suffragan dioceses
editOrdinaries
editVicar Apostolic, Bishops and Archbishops
| Sl.No | Ordinary | Designation | Year of appointment | Last year of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar Adolph Medlycott | Vicar Apostolic | 1887 | 1896 |
| 2 | Mar John Menachery | Vicar Apostolic | 1896 | 1919 |
| 3 | Mar Francis Vazhapilly | Bishop | 1919 | 1944 |
| 4 | Mar George Alapatt | Bishop | 1944 | 1970 |
| 5 | Mar Joseph Kundukulam | Archbishop | 1970 | 1997 |
| 6 | Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy | Archbishop | 1997 | 2007 |
| 7 | Mar Andrews Thazhath | Archbishop | 2007 | present |
Auxiliary Bishops
| Sl.No | Ordinary | Designation | Year of appointment | Last year of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar Andrews Thazhath | Auxiliary Bishop | 2004 | 2007 |
| 2 | Mar Raphael Thattil | Auxiliary Bishop | 2010 | 2017 |
| 3 | Mar Tony Neelankavil | Auxiliary Bishop | 2017 | present |
Prelates Hailing From the archdiocese
| Sl.No | Ordinary | Designation | Year of appointment | Last year of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar Joseph Irimpen | Former Bishop - Palghat | 1974 | 1994 |
| 2 | Mar James Pazhayattil | Former Bishop - Irinjalakuda | 1978 | 2010 |
| 3 | Mar Paul Chittilapilly | Former Bishop - Thamarassery | 1988 | 2010 |
| 4 | Mar Raphael Cheenath | Former Archbishop - Cuttack–Bhubaneswar | 1974 | 2011 |
| 5 | Mar Clemens Thottungal C.M.I | Former Bishop - Sagar | 1977 | 1987 |
| 6 | Mar Joseph Pastor C.M.I | Former Bishop - Sagar | 1987 | 2006 |
| 7 | Mar Antony Chirayath | Former Bishop - Sagar | 2006 | 2018 |
| 8 | Mar Bosco Puthur | *Curial bishop - Syro malabar Church * Former bishop - Melbourne and New Zealand *Apostolic Administrator - Archdiocese of Ernakulam Angamaly |
2010 | present |
| 9 | Mar Paul Alappatt | Bishop - Ramanathapuram | 2010 | present |
| 10 | Mar Raphael Thattil | Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church | 2010 | present |
| 11 | Mar Joseph Thykkattil | Bishop – Gwalior | 2019 | present |
| 12 | Mar Franco Mulakkal | Former Bishop – Jalandhar | 2013 | 2023 |
| 13 | Mar Antony Prince Panengaden | Bishop – Shamshabad | 2015 | present |
| 14 | Mar Vincent Nellaiparambil | Bishop – Bijnor | 2019 | present |
| 15 | Mar Thomas Anthony Vazhapilly | Former Bishop – Mysore | 2003 | 2017 |
Saints and causes for canonisation
edit- St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal[2]
- St. Maria Theresa Chiramel[3]
- Ven. Augustine John Ukken[2]
- Ven. Joseph Vithayathil[3]
- Servant of God Fr. Antony Thachuparambil[2]
- Servant of God Sr. Maria Celine Kannanaikal, UMI[3]
References
edit- ^ Medlycott, A.E. (1912). Saint Thomas Christians in Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, Volume 14. Robert Appleton Company. pp. 678–688.
- ^ a b c "Saints & Blessed – CCBI". Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Glorified Souls - Archdiocese of Trichur". www.trichurarchdiocese.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
External links
edit