India’s Syro-Malabar Church has elected six new bishops, including three priests from one archdiocese, Thrissur. The Syro Malabar Council at Mount St Thomas, Kakkanad, Kochi, announced the rare development on Monday, Express Buzz reports.
Thrissur Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath made the announcement regarding the elevation at the assembly of priests, nuns and the faithful at the Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral in Thrissur.
The Archbishop said Fr Bosco Puthur, Rector of the Saint Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, Fr Paul Alapatt, Rector of the St Mary’s Minor Seminary, Thrissur, and Fr Raphael Thattil, Senior Vicar- General of Thrissur Archdiocese, were those elevated as bishops.
Bosco Puthur will be the first bishop at the Curial of the Syro-Malabar Church at Kochi.
Paul Alapatt will be the first bishop of the newly constituted Ramanathapuram diocese, consequent to the bifurcation of the existing Palakkad diocese, while Raphael Thattil will be the auxiliary bishop of the Thrissur Archdiocese, a post which had been lying vacant for the past three years.
At the installation ceremony, the Archbishop said the elevation of three senior priests from the Thrissur Archdiocese was a matter of great joy to the priests, nuns and the faithful of the Archdiocese.
The Archbishop then conferred the signs of Bishop’s authority - ’sash, chain with cross and the pontifical ring’ - on the three new bishops.
It was also decided to bifurcate the Palakkad diocese for creating a new diocese at Ramanathapuram.
Dr George Njaralakkad will be the bishop of Mandya Diocese in Karnataka.
Fr Pauli Kannookadan will be the bishop of Irinjalakkuda and Remegius Inchanani will be the bishop of Thamarassery.
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