Kurian Mathew Vayalunkal (born 4 August 1966) is an Indian prelate of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

who works in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

as Apostolic Nuncio to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. He was the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

from 2016 to 2021.

Biography

Kurian Mathew Vayalunkal was born on 4 August 1966 in Vadavathoor,

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

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 ...

, the first of four boys born to Mr. M.C. Mathai and Mrs. Annamma Mathai. He completed his minor seminary from St. Stanislaus Minor Seminary. He completed his

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies at St. Joseph's pontifical Seminary, Aluva. In 1998 he obtained a doctorate in canon law from

Pontifical University of the Holy Cross Pontifical University of the Holy Cross ( la, Pontificia Universitas Sanctae Crucis, it, Pontificia Università della Santa Croce) is a Roman Catholic university under the Curial Congregation for Catholic Education, now entrusted to the Prela ...

in Rome. He also completed his diplomatic studies at the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

. He was ordained a priest on 27 December 1991. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1998 and served in Guinea, Korea, the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Hungary and Egypt. He was also sent to Haiti in 2010 to oversee the Vatican's humanitarian work after an earthquake. On 3 May 2016,

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. ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and

Titular Archbishop 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 an ...

Ratiaria Ratiaria (or: Raetiaria, Retiaria, Reciaria, Razaria; bg, Рациария; el, Ραζαρία μητρόπολις;) was a city founded by the Moesians, a Daco-Thracian tribe, in the 4th century BC, along the river Danube. In Roman times it w ...

. He received his episcopal consecration in Christ the King Cathedral of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam The Knanaya Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is a metropolitan Archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India. The Archeparchy is exclusively for Knanaya faithful who are the descendants of Syriac Judeo-Christians (early ...

on 25 July 2016 from

Mathew Moolakkatt Mar Mathew Moolakkatt (27 February 1953), an Knanaya, East Syriac knanaya Catholic Archbishop was born in Uzhavoor, India. Currently he is Archbishop of Knanaya Catholics of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam, Kottayam Archeparchy, su ...

, Archbishop of Kottayam. He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Solomon Islands on 21 September 2016. Pope Francis appointed him Nuncio to Algeria on 1 January 2021.

Writings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vayalunkal, Kurian Mathew Apostolic Nuncios to Papua New Guinea Apostolic Nuncios to the Solomon Islands Apostolic Nuncios to Algeria Living people Christian clergy from Kottayam 1966 births Syro-Malabar bishops People from Kerala

Biography

Writings

See also

References