FR. ANTONY KARIYIL CMI,
ELECTED THE SECOND BISHOP OF THE EPARCHY OF MANDYA
The Synod of Bishops assembled at Mount St. Thomas from 17 August this year elected Fr. Antony Kariyil CMI the second bishop of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Mandya in Karnataka. The announcement of this election was made public at 12.00 noon (Italian Time) today, Wednesday 26 August at the Vatican and simultaneously at 3.30 p.m. IST at Mount St. Thomas, Kakkanad in the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Curia and at the Cathedral Church, Mandya. At Mount St. Thomas, the Major Archbishop George Cardinal Alencherry made the announcement and presented the bishop-elect with the insignia of Episcopacy. Archbishop George Njaralakkatt of Tellicherry felicitated the bishop-elect, his successor by presenting a bouquet. All the Bishops attending the Syro-Malabar Synod were present on the occasion.
Fr. Antony Kariyil, born on 26 March 1950 in the parish of Chalil, Cherthala, in the Arch-Eparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Having made his first religious profession in the CMI congregation on 16 May 1967 and final profession on 16 May 1971, he was ordained priest on 27 December 1977.
Fr. Kariyil, the Bishop-elect, having a doctorate in Social Sciences, has worked as the Prior General of the CMI Congregation, Provincial Superior of the CMI Kalamasserry Province, National President of the Conference of Religious of India, Principal of Rajagiri College of Social Sciences and Christ College, Bangalore, etc. The new appointment has come to him while working as the Director of Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology. The date of Episcopal ordination and installation of the new Bishop will be decided later.
Eparchy of Mandya was established on 18 January 2010, bifurcating the eparchy of Mananthavady, and Bishop George Njaralakkatt was appointed the first Bishop of Mandya. The new appointment was necessitated when Bishop George Njaralakatt was appointed Archbishop of Tellicherry, after four commendable years of service in Mandya as its Bishop.
It was in 1978 that priests from the Missionary Society of St. Thomas (MST) began the evangelization work in Madya at the invitation of Bishop Jacob Thoomkuzhy, then Bishop of Mananthavady. Besides the MST Priests, at present, there are many diocesan priests of the eparchy of Mandya, priests from the eparchy of Mananthavady, from the CMI, MCBS, Vincentian and Norbertine congregations serving the eparchy. Twenty seminarians are undergoing formation in various seminaries. Many religious sisters also do commendable service in the work of evangelization in the 6 parishes and 13 mission centres of the eparchy. In a short period of time, the eparchy could achieve great success also in social, charitable and health care apostolate.
With the announcement of the new Bishop it was also made public that by its decree, Prot. N. 188/2014, dated 4 August 2015, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches has communicated that His Holiness Pope Francis, in the audience granted to the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation on 26 July 2015, has deigned to change the boundaries of the Eparchy of Mandya, and contemporaneously the proper territory of the Syro-Malabar Church, so as to include the civil districts of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chickballapur, Kolar, Ramnagar and Tumkur, at the same time, bringing all the Syro-Malabar faithful actually residing in these areas and those who will be residing there in the future under the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Mandya. With this extension, the Syro-Malabar faithful in these areas have obtained the possibility of receiving pastoral care according to the ecclesial heritage of the Syro-Malabar Church.
Kakkanad Fr. Antony Kollannur
26 August 2015 Major Archiepiscopal Chancellor
