Pope Francis on Friday approved the election
of a new Auxiliary Bishop to the southern India’s Archeparcy or
Archdiocese of Changanacherry belonging to the Syro-Malabar rite
Catholic Church. The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church elected Fr. Thomas Tharayil as the Auxilary of Changanacherry, in Kerala state.
In the eastern-rite Catholic Churches the synods have the autonomy of electing their bishops, to which the Pope gives his assent.
Bishop-elect, Fr. Tharayil, was born in Changanacherry on Feb 2, 1972, and after passing through the minor seminary of Kurichy he pursued his studies at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor.
After his priestly ordination on Jan. 1, 2000, he went to Rome where he obtained a licentiate as well as a doctorate in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Besides his native tongue, Malayalam, Fr. Tharayil knows Italian, Spanish and German.
Among his various responsibilities, he served as secretary to Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Powathil, assistant parish priest in several parishes, professor in various seminaries and institutes and until now, the director of the Danahalaya Institute of Formation.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is the apex body of the Catholic Church of India, that is composed of the Latin Rite and the two eastern rites – the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches, which claim their origin from St. Thomas the Apostle.
According to website of the Apostolic Nuncio to India, out of a total of 176 archdioceses and dioceses, 136 belong to the Latin Rite, 31 to the Syro-Malabar and 9 to the Syro-Malankara Churches.