Varkey Vithayathil

Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil (2009)

Coat of arms of Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil

Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil CSsR ( Malayalam മാർ വർക്കി വിതയത്തിൽ Mār Varkki Vitayattil ; born May 29, 1927 in Parur ; † April 1, 2011 in Ernakulam ) was Indian Grand Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly for the believers of the Syro-Malabar Rite and cardinal of the Roman Church .

Life

Varkey Vithayathil attended schools in North Paravur and Thiruvananthapuram . He studied philosophy at University College Thiruvananthapuram and Catholic theology at St. Joseph College, Trichy. After his ordination in 1954, he completed a doctoral degree in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome , which he completed with the thesis "The Origin and Progress of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy". In 1972 he received a Masters degree in Philosophy from Karnatak University . From 1959 to 1984 he worked as a lecturer in canon law at the Redemptorist Seminary in Bangalore . He also taught other subjects in other Bangalore seminars.

From 1978 to 1984 he was Provincial Head of the Redemptorist Order in India and Sri Lanka . From 1984 to 1985 he was President of the Conference of Churches in India. From 1990 he was Apostolic Administrator of the Asirvinam Benedictine Abbey in Bangalore for six years .

On November 11, 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed Varkey Vithayathil Titular Archbishop of Achrida and 1997 Titular Archbishop of Antinoë . He was ordained bishop on January 6, 1997, by Pope John Paul II himself; Co-consecrators were Giovanni Battista Re , substitute for the Vatican State Secretariat , and Miroslav Stefan Marusyn , Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches . Varkey Vithayathil initially looked after the vacant bishopric of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar rite as administrator, before he was appointed archbishop there in 1999. Varkey Vithayathil was President of the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church.

On February 21, 2001 Varkey Vithayathil was accepted into the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II as a cardinal priest with the titular church of San Bernardo alle Terme . He was a member of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches . Cardinal Vithayathil was an eligible participant in the 2005 conclave , which Pope Benedict XVI. chose. In February 2008 he was elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

Varkey Vithayathil died of heart failure on April 1, 2011 and was buried in St Mary's Cathedral by Ernakulam.

Commons : Varkey Vithayathil - collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Antony Cardinal Padiyara	Grand Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly 1999–2011	George Cardinal Alencherry

personal data
SURNAME	Vithayathil, Varkey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Vithayathil, Varkey Cardinal CSsR
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Indian Roman Catholic clergyman, archbishop and cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH	May 29, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH	Parur , India
DATE OF DEATH	April 1, 2011
Place of death	Ernakulam , India