Mar Joseph Kundukulam (26 September 1917 – 26 April 1998) was the first

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Trichur-Palayoor, in Thrissur District of Central Kerala, India, with nearly half a million Syro-Malabar Catholics now, used to be the largest Catholic diocese in India when it included the Syro-Malab ...

, from 1970 to 1997. Kundukulam was succeeded by Mar

Jacob Thoomkuzhy Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy (born 13 December 1930) is an East Syriac Catholic Archbishop Emeritus, First Bishop of Mananthavady diocese, Second bishop of Thamarassery diocese and the second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdioc ...

. Kundukulam retired as archbishop in 1997 and died at Wamba,

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on 26 April 1998. His corpse was taken to

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

by a special aircraft and was buried at

Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Kerala, is located in the heart of Thrissur City in the state of Kerala, India. Dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Syro-Malabar Catholic church is noted for its imposi ...

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

on 29 April 1998.

Career

Kundukulam completed his ecclesiastical studies at St Mary’s Major Seminary in Trichur and at St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary in Aluva. Kundukulam was ordained priest on 20 December 1942. Kundukulam was a member of the pastoral ministry until he was nominated to become a Bishop. He also served as the director of St. Anne's Charitable Institute from 1958 to 1970. In 1967 Kundukulam founded St. Christina's Home in Pullazhy, which a rehabilitation center for Unwedded mothers. Kundukulam had a close relationship with Congress Leader

K. Karunakaran Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times during the late 1970s through the mid 1990s. He is the ...

. During the visit of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

to India in 1986, a visit to Thrissur had not been scheduled. Mar Joseph Kundukulam sent a request to Karunakaran to bring the Pope to Thrissur and Karunakaran was able to schedule a papal visit to Thrissur.

Vinod Rai Vinod Rai (born 23 May 1948) is a former IAS officer who served as the 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He assumed office on 7 January 2008 till 22 May 2013. He is the current chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors and Honorary ...

was the District Collector of Thrissur that time, and the necessary arrangements were made for the papal visit. Pope visited Thrissur on February 7, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kundukulam, Joseph 1917 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Archbishops of Thrissur