Mar Antony Padiyara (11 February 1921 – 23 March 2000) was a Syro Malabar Major Archbishop and cardinal. He was the First Major Archbishop of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

. He was Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly from 1985 to 1996, having previously served as Bishop of Ootacamund (1955–1970) and Archbishop of Changanassery (1970–1985). He was elevated to the

cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

in 1988.

Biography

Born in

Manimala Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It's declared as a folklore village since 2011 by the central government to promote folklore. Ge ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

, Antony Padiyara studied at St. Peter's Regional Seminary in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood on 19 December 1945. He was

incardinated Incardination is the formal term in the Catholic Church for a clergyman being under a bishop or other ecclesiastical superior. It is also sometimes used to refer to laity who may transfer to another part of the church. Examples include transfers ...

into the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

Diocese of Coimbatore, where he served as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Peria Kodiveri Peria may refer to: *Fereydan, also called Peria, is a county in the Province of Isfahan, Iran *Peria, Northland, a locality in the Far North District of New Zealand. The Peria River flows through here * Peria, Waikato, a locality in the Matamata-P ...

and pastor at

Kollegal Kollegal is one of the major taluks in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. It is also the largest taluk in Karnataka, Kollegal is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the stat ...

and

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 ...

between 1946 and 1952. He became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

in 1952 and a professor at St. Peter's Regional Seminary in 1954. On 3 July 1955, Padiyara was appointed Bishop of Ootacamund by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. He received his

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

on the following 16 October from Bishop René-Jean-Baptiste-Germain Feuga, with Bishop Francis Xavier Muthappa and Archbishop Matthew Kavukattu serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. After attending the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

from 1962 to 1965, Padiyara returned to the

Syro-Malabar Rite lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

. On 13 June 1970 he was promoted to Archbishop of Changanassery. He was elected

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the Indian Episcopal Conference (1976), President of the

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council is a permanent association of the Catholic bishops in Kerala. Headquartered in Kochi, it is an association of three rites of the Catholic Church - the Roman / Latin, the Syro Malabar and the Syro Malankara. ...

(1983), and President of the Syro-Malabar Bishops Conference (1984). In one of the acts of his short-lived papacy,

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

named him

Apostolic visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is depute ...

to the Syro-Malabar Catholics in Kerala on 8 September 1978. Padiyara was appointed

Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly The Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church is the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church within the Catholic Church, and the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamalay in Kerala, Ind ...

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 ...

on 23 April 1985. He was created

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Maria "Regina Pacis" a Monte Verde in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of 28 June 1988. When the

Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was elevated to the rank of a

major archdiocese 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 arc ...

on 16 December 1992, Padiyara became a

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 arch ...

and thus head of the

. During this period, the powers of

were also vested in the

Pontifical Delegate {{Short description, Catholic title with unrelated uses A Pontifical Delegate is a cleric who is delegated by the Pope. Specifically, this title is used for the following ecclesiastical offices in the gift of the Pope (who is Pontifex Maximus, hen ...

Mar Abraham Kattumana Abraham Kattumana (21 January 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an Indian Catholic Archbishop. He was the Pontifical Delegate of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church with the powers of the Major Archbishop vested in him by Pope John Paul II. Previously, he ...

(1992–1995). Within the Roman Curia, he was a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

and the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Oriental Canon Law. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, he resigned as Major Archbishop on 11 November 1996, after eleven years of service. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1998. He later died at the Cardinal Padiyara Nature Cure Centre in

Kakkanad Kakkanad is a major industrial and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is situated in the eastern part of the city and houses the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Infopark, Smart City and KINFRA Export Promotion Industrial ...

, which he himself had founded, aged 79. He is buried in St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

References

External links

Antony Padiyara statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padiyara, Mar Antony I Indian cardinals Christian clergy from Kottayam 2000 deaths 1921 births 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Archbishops of Changanassery Syro-Malabar Catholic Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work