Mar Thomas Padiyath (born 14 January 1969) is an Indian-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 ca ...

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 ...

in the India. He is currently one of the Auxiliary Bishops of Eparchy of Shamshabad.

Biography

Early life and studies

Padiyath was born in

Ettumanoor Ettumanoor, sometimes spelled Ettumanur, is a major town and municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India, located 11 kilometers north-east of Kottayam city, 50 kilometers south of Cochin, and 70 kilometers south of Cochin Internation ...

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 ...

on January 14, 1969, in the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry The Archeparchy of Changanacherry is a Syro-Malabar Catholic archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and also Kanyakumari district in ...

. When Padiyath decided to join the priesthood, He began his formation at the Minor Seminary of St. Thomas in Kurichy. He then went to St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluva for his Philosophy and Theology studies. After the completion of his studies, He was ordinated by Archbishop

Joseph Powathil Joseph Powathil (born 14 August 1929) is an Indian prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery. Early life Powathil was born in the hamlet of Kurumbanadom, ...

on December 19, 1994. After his ordination, Archbishop Powathil sent him to the Catholic University of Louvain where he received a doctorate in philosophy and licentiate in theology.

Ministry

After he returned to India from

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, he began his ministry as an Assistant Priest before being appointed by Powathil to be the Secretary of Archbishop of

Changanacherry Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

. After his service, He became a professor at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kunnoth, Jyothi Seminary and Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram 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 ...

, Mater Dei Institute in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, Paurastya Vidyapitham in Vadavathoor, the St. Charles Seminary in Namibia and the CANA Institute in Thuruthy. After his service in Education,

Joseph Perumthottam Mar Joseph Perumthottam (born 5 July 1948) is a prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Since 2007 he as served as the Archbishop of Changanassery. Education He was educated in St. Joseph's High School in Punnathura and St. Berchmans ...

appointed him Vicar General of

Auxiliary Of Shamshabad

On August 25, 2022,

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. ...

announced and approved of the election of Padiyath as one of the two auxiliary bishops for

Shamshabad Shamshabad is a city in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad mandal of Rajendranagar revenue division. The international airport of Hyderabad is located here. History In former times the area was known as Sedanti village, ...

by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Synod. He was consecrated on October 9, 2022, by Cardinal

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 (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was electe ...

References

1969 births Living people {{India-RC-bishop-stub