Baselios Cleemis from India among six Cardinals appointed by Pope

Baselios Cleemis from India among six Cardinals appointed by PopeThe head of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal was Saturday among six others who joined the College of Cardinals at a ceremony led by Pope Benedict XVI at Vatican. He received the gold ring and the biretta from the Pope during the ceremony at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican on 24 November 2012. All six are "cardinal electors", those under 80 years old and are therefore eligible to enter a conclave that will one day choose Benedict's successor.

You can browse more latest Missionaries News Updates

The life of Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal

He was born on June 15, 1959 as "Isaac Thottunkal" in Mukkoor, a small village close to Mallappally Town in Pathanamthitta District in the State of Kerala in South India. He attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a B.Phil. degree from St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva where he attended from 1979 to 1982. He received a B.Th. degree from the Papal Seminary, Pune where he attended from 1983 to 1986. Thottunkal was ordained a priest on June 11, 1986. He studied for the Master of Theology in Dharmaram College, Bangalore where he attended from 1986 to 1989. Thottunkal took his Doctorate in Ecumenical Theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome in 1997.

The other new cardinals are American Archbishop James Michael Harvey, Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon and Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja. All the new cardinals are from outside Europe. The Pope has been criticised for appointing mainly Europeans as cardinals in the past. Mar Cleemis is the youngest of the present cardinals. He is also the second prelate from Southern India to be made cardinal this year.

The ceremony at the Vatican was watched by an official five member delegation headed by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. Thiruvananthapuram Mayor J Chandrika, Palode Ravi MLA, Archbishop Soosapakiam, Palayam Imam Jamaluddin Manakkad, Santhigiri Ashram Chief Swami Jnanaratna Thapasi, Marthoma Metropolitan Mar Joseph Bharnabas and CSI Bishop Dharmaraj Rassalam also attended the ceremony.

The new consistory raises the percentage of Asian electors from 7 percent to 9 percent. The Pope has said the second consistory he has called this year aims to show that "the Church is a Church of all peoples (and) speaks in all languages".

"Dear friends, let us praise the Lord, who "with manifold gifts does not cease to enrich his Church spread throughout the world" and reinvigorates her in the perennial youth that he has bestowed upon her. To him we entrust the new ecclesial service of these our esteemed and venerable Brothers, that they may bear courageous witness to Christ, with a lively growing faith and unceasing sacrificial love," the Pope said during the hour-long service.

Browse Beautiful World Heritage Sites. More Missionaries News Updates

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

D G S Dhinakaran

Image
Dr.Duraisamy Geoffery Samuel Dhinakaran, was an Indian Evangelical Preacher and founder of the Jesus Calls Ministry, born on July 1, 1935 at Surandai in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. He attended St.John`s college, Palayamkottai and subsequently was awarded a Bachelor degree in Mathematics from Madras University in 1955. He had a very tough life being torn by the ailments of poverty and agony of unemployment. Unable to bear the agony of these problems, on February 11, 1955, Dr.D.G.S.Dhinakaran decided to put an end to his life. He started towards the nearest railway track in his village to throw himself before the speeding train when he was stopped by his uncle who introduced Jesus Christ. He experienced a sudden wave of divine peace and hope, flood his heart. His mind was transformed and he returned home enlightened. After this incident, things started happening in him supernaturally. There arose an unquenchable thirst in him to spend hours together poring over the lif
More +

India Celebrates World Sunday School Day

Image
The "World Sunday School" was founded with a great challenge to save and shape the children community after seeing thousands and thousands of street children who neither go to school nor to Church by Serampore trio (William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and William Ward) in India at 1803. Every year first Sunday of November, the "World Sunday School Day", was observed by the Churches. The day is being observed to commemorate the day and its significant change of effective effects towards this modern world especially to the children of the Sunday School in nurturing their shape in way of how a good Christian by birth should adapt to grow in the society through the foot-steps of Christianity's religion principles.
More +

Charles Mead

Image
Rev.Charles Mead was the Father of the South Travancore Mission, born on 1st October 1792 at Bristol, Gloucester, England. He was brought up by his uncle Rev.John Hunt at Wakefield, Yorkshire, attended Gosport Missionary School and ordained at Chichester on 6th March 1816. According to the London Mission Society’s report, Rev.Charles Mead was nominated for Travancore as Rev.Ringeltaube’s successor. He married Rev.Hunt’s daughter. He left from England on 20th April, 1816 for Travancore and arrived at Madras on 28th August 1816 along with Rev.Richard Knill, who known as the pastor of the church at St Petersburg. He was received by Rev.Loveless, who was the first England missionary of Madras. Rev.Mead was detained a considerable time at Rev.Loveless’s house at Madras by his wife's ill-health and he studied Tamil. There after he gave early intimation of his arrival to Col.Munro and consulted him on various subjects related to the mission affairs and solicited help. After one year back,
More +