Antony Anandarayar (17 July 1945 – 4 May 2021) was an Indian

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

prelate who served as

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore la, Pondicherien(sis) et Cuddaloren(sis) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India. History With a land area of 11,348 square kilom ...

.Archbishop Antony Anandarayar
at catholic-hierarchy.orgOfficial website of Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore
/ref> His episcopal motto in Latin is ''Servire in Fide et in Amore'', which means ''To serve with Faith and Love''. He died on 4 May 2021.

Biography

He has a doctorate in

Missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. History Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...

and a

Doctorate in Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

. He was ordained priest on 21 December 1971. He was nominated as Bishop of Ootacamund on 12 January 1997 and was consecrated by Cardinal

Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (5 February 1924 – 2 June 2014) was an Indian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. His ...

with co-consecrators as Archbishop Michael Augustine and Archbishop Aruldass James on 29 January 1997. He was appointed as

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

for the

on 10 June 2004 and installed on 5 July that year. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 27 January 2021 from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore after he reached the mandatory age of retirement in accordance with Canon Law. In April 2021, he contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalised in St. Thomas Hospital, Chennai. Though he later tested negative, on 4 May morning, his health condition deteriorated as the oxygen saturation level was very low. He died the same day, 4 May 2021 at 9:30 pm. His mortal remains were then brought to the

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral (french: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Pondichéry, ta, தூய அமலோற்பவ அன்னை பேராலயம்) is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...

, where he was laid for homage. The funeral Mass was celebrated on the evening of 5 May 2021. After that, he was laid to rest at the Clergy Cemetery inside the Cathedral Campus. He thus served the Church as a priest for 50 years and as a bishop for 24 years.

Past career

Before becoming Archbishop of Pondicherry and Cuddalore he has held the following posts: * 1972-1976 - St. Joseph's Boarding, Cuddalore * 1976-1981 - Higher Studies, Rome * 1981 - Staff, St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore * 1982-1990 - Vice Rector, St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore * 1990-1996 - Rector, St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore * 1997-2004 - Bishop of

Ootacamund Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anandarayar, Antony 1945 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic theologians Roman Catholic archbishops of Pondicherry and Cuddalore People from Ariyalur district Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India