Palackal Thoma

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Palackal Thoma Malpan

C.M.I.
Founder
Bornc. 1780
Pallippuram, Kerala, India
Died16 January 1841(1841-01-16) (aged 60–61)
Pallippuram, Kerala, India
Venerated inSyro-Malabar Church

Palackal Thoma Malpan

C.M.I. (the first native religious institute of the Eastern Catholic Church), and the founder of the first seminary
for Syro-Malabar Catholics.

Life

Palackal Family

Palackal Thoma was born to the Palackal family, about 1780 in the village of

"Nasrani"
(followers of Jesus the Nazarene).

Pallippuram, is now part of the state of

Kingdom of Travancore.[1]

Thoma Palackal felt a call to the

Holy Orders in 1807.[1]

After Palackal's ordination he was named as Secretary for the

Apostolic Vicariate for the rest of his life.[1]

As a major leader of Syrian Catholic Church in India, Palackal introduced many Western practices among his people. These included the use of a Roman style white cassock by the clergy, in order to distinguish them from the clergy of the Jacobite Christians. Additionally, the use of a confessional and a graveyard with boundary wall were mandated for all churches and confraternities were established for the greater participation of the laity in church services.[1]

Educator and founder

Palackal returned to his hometown in 1818. After settling there, he found several young men who asked him to train them for the priesthood. He then opened a small

Kuriakose Chavara, who would later join him in forming the first religious congregation in the Syro-Malabar Church. They developed a paternal bond which lasted his whole life.[1]

Palackal insisted on the rigorous development of both soul and mind in his seminary. For the first, he wrote a Rule of life for the seminarians which was a strict routine of prayer and fasting. For the latter, he taught himself

Malayalam language for the benefit of his students.[1]

Palackal seems to have long held a desire for life in a religious community similar to that of the

Third Order.[3] In 1833 Palackal moved his seminary there to train the clergy of both the Vicariate and his new community.[1]

Death

Palackal died in his native city on 16 January 1841. He was buried in the main altar of Pallippuram St. Mary's Church.[4]

Legacy

Chavara went on to found the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate in 1855, after the death of his mentor. Today they serve the members of the Syro-Malabar Church around the world.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Palackal Thoma Malpan". Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  2. ^ Catholic Hierarchy
  3. ^ Carmelites of Mary Immaculate "A Short (History) of CMI" Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ St. Mary's Forane Church, Pallippuram "History" Archived 24 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

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