Palackal Thoma Malpan (c. 1780 – 1841) was an Indian Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the

Syro-Malabar 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 ...

based in India. He was the senior priest and founder who envisaged the formation of the first native religious institution in India ,Carmelites of Mary Immaculate also known as C.M.I. (the first native religious institute of the Eastern Catholic Church), and the founder of the first

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for Syro-Malabar Catholics.

Life

Palackal Family

Palackal Thoma was born to the Palackal family, about 1780 in the village of Pallippuram, an ancient Christian priestly family in Kerala that trace their origin as Jewish lineage who were baptized by

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

, a disciple of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Kottakkavu Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Pilgrim Church is a Syro-Malabar church located in North Paravur. According to Saint Thomas Christian tradition, the church was established in 52 AD by St. Thomas (Mar Thoma shleeha), one of the twelve apo ...

, North Paravoor. Most Christians in Kerala are known as Syrian Christians in view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India. They are also known as "Nasrani" (followers of Jesus the Nazarene). Pallippuram, is now part of the state of

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 ...

, then in the

Kingdom of Travancore The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. Thoma Palackal felt a call to the

Christian ministry In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission. The '' Encyclopedia of Christianity'' defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", in ...

, for which he pursued theological studies under a noted priest of the Syrian Church, Abraham Thachil. He received Holy Orders in 1807. After Palackal's ordination he was named as Secretary for the

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of ...

and a councilor to the Vicariate Apostolic of Malabar (now the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church, composed of Latin Catholics of Malabar and headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. Th ...

), Raimundo di San Giuseppe Roviglia, who led them in the name 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 ...

in Rome. He would serve as a councilor to the Apostolic Vicariate for the rest of his life. As a major leader of Syrian Catholic Church in India, Palackal introduced many Western practices among his people. These included the use of a Roman style white

cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...

by the clergy, in order to distinguish them from the clergy of the Jacobite Christians. Additionally, the use of a

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

and a graveyard with boundary wall were mandated for all churches and

confraternities A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christians, Christian voluntary association of laity, laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Christian Churc ...

were established for the greater participation of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

in church services.

Educator and founder

Palackal returned to his hometown in 1818. After settling there, he found several young men who asked him to train them for the priesthood. He then opened a small

for this purpose. Among his first students was

Kuriakose Chavara Kuriakose Elias Chavara, C.M.I. (10 February 1805 – 3 January 1871) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and a member of the Syro-M ...

, who would later join him in forming the first

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

in the Syro-Malabar Church. They developed a paternal bond which lasted his whole life. Palackal insisted on the rigorous development of both soul and mind in his seminary. For the first, he wrote a Rule of life for the seminarians which was a strict routine of prayer and fasting. For the latter, he taught himself

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

so that he could translate the best spiritual resources printed in that language by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

into their native

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

for the benefit of his students. Palackal seems to have long held a desire for life in a religious community similar to that of the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

who led the Catholic faith in that region. He was joined in this by his student, Chavara. They found another like-minded priest of the Vicariate, Thomas Porukkara. In 1831 they were given the permission of the

Coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Vicar Apostolic, Maurelio Stabellini, to establish a religious community. The Monastery of St. Joseph was then founded in Mannanam on 11 May of that year. The small community called themselves the "Servants of Mary Immaculate" and lived under the Rule of the Discalced Third Order. In 1833 Palackal moved his seminary there to train the clergy of both the Vicariate and his new community.

Death

Palackal died in his native city on 16 January 1841. He was buried in the main altar of Pallippuram St. Mary's Church.St. Mary's Forane Church, Pallippuram "History"

Legacy

Chavara went on to found the

Carmelites of Mary Immaculate The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Carmelitarum Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae) abbreviated CMI, formerly also known as the Servants of Mary Immaculate ( ml, അമലോത്ഭവ ദാസ സംഘം), is a Cath ...

in 1855, after the death of his mentor. Today they serve the members of the Syro-Malabar Church around the world.

Life

Palackal Family

Educator and founder

Death

Legacy

References

Further reading