2014-08-29 16:01:00

Pope approves appointment of Archbishop of Tellicherry


Pope  Francis on Friday approved the appointment of a new archbishop to the Archdiocese of Tellicherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church based in southern India’s Kerala state.  The synod of the eastern-rite Church, headed by Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of ‎Emakulam-Angamaly, Kerala, voted to transfer Bishop George Njaralakatt of Mandya, in Karnataka state, to Tellicherry as archbishop.    Unlike in the Latin-rite Church where bishops are appointed directly by the Pope, the synods of Oriental Catholic Churches elect their own bishops and heads, to be later approved by the Pope. 

Sixty-eight-year old bishop Njaralakatt takes over from Archbishop George Valiamattam of Tellicherry, who has resigned, having reached the retirement age of 75 last year. Bishop Njaralakatt was born in 1946 in Kalayanthany, Kerala, and ordained priest in 1971 for Tellicherry Archdiocese.  Sent to Rome for higher studies, he obtained a licentiate in catechetics in 1986 from the Salesian university.  He was engaged in several pastoral responsibilities in the dioceses of Tellicherry, Mananthavady and Bhadravthi, and in 2010 was appointed Bishop of Mandya.  He speaks English, his mother tongue Malayalam, German and Italian.








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