All Kerala Diocesan Visits - 2005
Author: Jobi Varghese Date: November 14, 2005
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Thirteen Diocesan Houses spread over about three-fourths of the entire Kerala state, located at places spanning more than 1200 km by road... Thirteen majestic Diocesan Cathedrals... A number of beautiful churches... Famous pilgrimage centres... Scenic places ... On top of all these, very friendly and encouraging faces...
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That was just a quick recap of what SyroMalabar.com came across over the last nine days of October 2005.
I, Jobi Varghese, made an official visit to all the 13 dioceses, located in Kerala, of the Syro-Malabar Church on the last week of October 2005.
The objectives of this All Kerala Diocesan Visit - 2005 were:
- Officially inform every diocese (Diocesan House and Cathedral Church) of SyroMalabar.com
- Get to know about each diocese and the community there
- Gather photographs and information about each diocese
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Needless to say that SyroMalabar.com met all these objectives, and finished the coverage of all 13 dioceses in Kerala over a period of nine days, starting with the Diocese of Mananthavady on October 23 and finishing with the Diocese of Idukki on October 31.
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In every diocese, I visited the Diocesan House (Bishop's House) and the Cathedral Church, where I handed over official information about SyroMalabar.com, besides visiting several other churches in the diocese, pilgrimage centres, and also covering some colleges and schools under the Syro-Malabar Church.
Features about each of these dioceses, Cathedrals, and colleges will start appearing on SyroMalabar.com shortly. SyroMalabar.com will feature the dioceses randomly.
A detailed calendar of SyroMalabar.com's All Kerala Diocesan Visits - 2005 is given below:
Diocese of MananthavadyVisit: 23-OCT-05
Mananthavady is an extremely beautiful place, truly a paradise on earth - greenery, hills, cascades, forests, ... Diocesan House: Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Fr Vinu Madathiparambil, Bishop's secretary. Collect directory & information on Mananthavady Diocese. Also meet with Mar Lawrence Mukkuzhy, Bishop of the Diocese of Belthangady, who was visiting Mananthavady Diocese, and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him.
Cathedral Church: St Joseph's Cathedral, Kaniyaram, Thalasserry Road; Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Cathedral Vicar Fr Joseph Nechikatt who also poses for a photograph for SyroMalabar.com.
Other: Attend the Mission Rally (Mission Sunday) jointly conducted by all three Catholic communities in the diocese; Attend the joint Holy Mass at the Amalotbhava (Immaculate) Latin Catholic Church, Town, Mananthavady. |
Archdiocese of ThalasseryVisit: 24-OCT-05
Archdiocesan House: Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Fr Joseph Varanath, Chancellor. Collect directory & information on Thalassery Archdiocese.
Cathedral Church: St Joseph's Cathedral. Talk with Fr Thomas Chittilappilly and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Fr Thomas says: "Very good work." Communicate with several other priests also. |
Diocese of ThamarasseryVisit: 24-OCT-05 & 25-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Fr Remigius Inchananiyil, Chancellor. Collect information on Thamarassery Diocese.
Cathedral Church: Mary Matha Cathedral, majestic in looks; very big and appealing; unique construction; serene surroundings; probably, the LARGEST of all Syro-Malabar Cathedrals. Cathedral Vicar Fr Joseph Kappil not available. Submit official information at the Bishop's house for passing on to Cathedral Vicar. |
Diocese of PalghatVisit: 25-OCT-05 & 26-OCT-05
Diocesan House: (Vennakkara, Nr Mercy College) Talk with Fr Joseph Veliyathil, Chancellor and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Receive directory of Palghat Diocese from Fr Dominic Aippenparambil.
Cathedral Church: St Raphael's Cathedral; Cathedral Church is being renovated. Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Cathedral Vicar Fr Joseph Chittilappilly.
Other: * Visit Kanikkamatha Higher Secondary School (Diocese of Palghat); Sr Grace offers a tour of the school, and allows clicking several photographs.
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Archdiocese of TrichurVisit: 26-OCT-05
Archdiocesan House: Talk with Fr Francis Vazhappilly, who is in charge of the official site of Trichur Archdiocese. Fr Francis has already visited SyroMalabar.com several times. Asks: "Isn't it the site with a greenish shade?" He is very friendly and talks a lot of things. Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him.
Cathedral Church: Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral. Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Cathedral Vicar Fr Joseph Pulicken. Other: Also visit Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours (Puthanpally), very old church 1 km from Cathedral, with a Bible Tower being built. |
Diocese of IrinjalakudaVisit: 26-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to a staff because nobody was available in the evening. Re-visit Irinjalakuda Diocese: 02-NOV-05
Cathedral Church: St Thomas Cathedral, very beautiful. Talk with Fr Sebastian Maliyackal, Cathedral Vicar and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Fr Sebastian poses for a photograph for SyroMalabar.com. |
Diocese of KothamangalamVisit: 27-OCT-05 [Several times before & after too! :-) ]
Diocesan House: Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to Fr Mathew Kochupurackal, Chancellor. Fr Mathew is already familiar with the website.
Cathedral Church: St George's Cathedral. Very big & august in looks. Meet Fr Antony Pulimalayil, Asst Vicar. Fr Antony has visited the website several times. He suggests a new category namely "Marian Pilgrimage Centres". He also suggests taking photographs of the inside of the Church, and photos of the newly constructed chapel. Also meet Fr Sebastain Namattathil, Asst Vicar. 01-NOV-05: Meet Fr Cherian Kanjirakkombil, Cathedral Vicar. |
Archdiocese of KottayamVisit: 28-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Meet Fr Thomas Kottoor, Chancellor and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com. Fr Thomas talks about the Kottayam diocese. He also suggests enhancing the website by having full-time personnel and also making the Matrimonial Section fee-based. Receive a directory of Kottayam Archdiocese from Fr Thomas.
Cathedral Church: Christ the King (Christuraja) Cathedral, large and beautiful. Fr Thomas Kottoor himself is the Cathedral Vicar.
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Archdiocese of ChanganasseryVisit: 28-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Meet Fr George Mangalathil, Chancellor. Submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Fr George gives a copy of the directory of Changanassery Archdiocese for SyroMalabar.com.
Cathedral Church: St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, a pilgrim centre. Meet Cathedral Vicar Fr Jacob Lanithottam and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Other: 29-OCT-05:- Visit Marian Pilgrimage centre, Parel, Changanassery.
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Diocese of PalaVisit: 29-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Extremely beautiful. Meet Fr Dominic Vechoor, Chancellor and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com to him. Receive a copy of the diocesan directory from Fr Dominic. Cathedral Church: St Thomas Cathedral, quite beautiful. Meet Fr Joseph Kuzhinjalil and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com.
Other:
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Diocese of KanjirappallyVisit: 29-OCT-05
Diocesan House: Meet both Chancellor & Diocesan Secretary at the Pastoral Centre, and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com. Diocesan Secretary Fr Joseph Chirackal logs on to SyroMalabar.com and says: "The site looks very good. We have to encourage you." Fr gives a copy of the diocesan directory. Cathedral Church: St Dominic's Cathedral, beautiful and scenic. Meet Fr Mathew Erathedom, Cathedral Vicar and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com. |
Archdiocese of Ernakulam - AngamalyVisit: 30-OCT-05
Major Archiepiscopal Curia: Meet Fr Antony Kollannur (second time after JUL-2005), and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com.
Visit St Thomas Christian Museum and view the audio-visual programmes, and the great collection of books, sculptures, and ancient material.
Cathedral Church: St Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Nr High Court; Very large and beautiful. Attend Holy Mass. |
Diocese of IdukkiVisit: 31-OCT-05
Diocesan House: At Karimpan in Idukki District (the latest of the 26 Syro-Malabar dioceses.) Exciting journey along the hills and greenery. Meet Fr James Punnaplackal, Chancellor, and submit official information about SyroMalabar.com. Fr says: "Glad to know about this website." Collect a copy of the directory of Idukki Diocese.
Cathedral Church: St George's Cathedral, Vazhathope, Cheruthoni Rd from Karimpan, about 4km from Karimpan; Under construction. The Mass is held in a temporary auditorium. Needless to say the surroundings are idyllic.
Other: 31-OCT-05: St Joseph's College, Moolamattom (CMI Institution, Diocese of Pala). Meet Principal Rev. Dr. Thomas Maliyackal CMI, who gives a copy of the college directory and poses for photographs for SyroMalabar.com. |
That finished an exciting nine days of travelling, photographing, and mingling mainly with the clergy.
Having returned to Bangalore after a trip that lasted 2020 KM, there is a strong feeling of nostalgia in me. I went to places I'd never seen, saw people I had never even heard of, and met and talked with clergy I never expected I ever would.
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Looking back, the beautiful places and lovely people in Mananthavady loom large before me. The ride to Thalassery and Thamarassery, the warm discussions at Palghat and Trichur, the magnificent collection at St Thomas Christian Museum, the meeting with the Bishop of Irinjalakuda, the amazing ride to Karimpan and then to Moolamattom taking those 12 hair-pin turns -- all were just wonderful!
No wonder I've already started planning the next trip!
There is a large collection of data and photographs. SyroMalabar.com will feature each Diocesan House and each Cathedral Church, picking the dioceses randomly.
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