Mar John Alappatt (born September 27, 1956) is an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n-born

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He serves as the eparch of St. Thomas Eparchy of Chicago since 2022. He served as the auxiliary bishop of the same eparchy from 2014–2022.

Biography

Early life and ministry

John Joy Alappatt was born in Parappukara,

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 ...

. He studied for the priesthood at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Vadavathoor, and was ordained a priest for the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Irinjalakuda in India on December 31, 1981, by Bishop James Pazhayattil. Alappatt continued his studies at St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute in Aluva an at the Adheva University in Wattair. He was then engaged in pastoral work in Chalkudy, Mala, the cathedral in

Irinjalakuda Irinjalakuda is a municipal town in Thrissur district, Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of Irinjalakuda Revenue Division and Mukundapuram (tehsil), Mukundapuram Taluk. After Thrissur, this town has most number of administrative, law-enfor ...

, and as a chaplain in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. In 1993 he was transferred to the United States where he served as a chaplain at the

Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown University Medical Center is a biomedical research and educational organization that responsible for over 80% of Georgetown University's sponsored research funding and is led by Edward B. Healton, MD, the Executive Vice President for He ...

where he also completed his clinical pastoral education program. Alappatt also served in pastoral assignments in New Milford,

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

and

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...

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and as the vicar at the Mar Thoma Shleeha Cathedral in

Bellwood, Illinois Bellwood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located west of Chicago's downtown Loop, the Village of Bellwood is bounded by the Eisenhower Expressway (south), the Proviso yards of the former Chicago & Northwe ...

Auxiliary Bishop

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named Alappatt as the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''Bencenna'' and the Auxiliary Bishop of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago on July 24, 2014. He was ordained a bishop by

George Alencherry George Alencherry ( syr, ܡܵܪܝ ܓܝܼܘܲܪܓܝܼܣ ܐܵܠܲܢܫܝܪܝ, Mar Giwargis Alencherry) is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the ...

, the

major archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...

of Ernakulam-Angamaly, on September 27, 2014. The principal co-consecrators were

Jacob Angadiath Mar Jacob Angadiath (born September 26, 1945) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church; he was serving as the first bishop of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago from July 2001 until his retirement on July 3, 2022. ...

of Chicago and Pauly Kannookadan of Irinjalakuda.

Eparch

On July 3, 2022, Pope Francis accepted Bishop Jacob Angadiath's resignation, and named Alappatt as successor. Alappatt was installed at the Mar Thoma Sleeha Syro-Malabar Catholic Cathedral in

by head of the Syro-Malabar Church

, and

Stephen Chirappanath Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

in the presence of

Christophe Pierre Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre (born 30 January 1946) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church. He is an archbishop who has been serving as the apostolic nuncio (ambassador) to the United States since 2016. Pierre previously served as ...

, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

References

External links

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas of Chicago Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alappat, Joy 1956 births Living people People from Thrissur district Indian emigrants to the United States Syro-Malabar bishops Indian-American Syro-Malabar Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops American people of Malayali descent Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Eastern Catholic bishops in the United States