Kochi: The installation of Mar Raphael Thattil, the newly elected Major Archibishop of Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church, will be held at 2.30 pm on Thursday (January 11) at Mount St Thomas here in Kakkanad.
The installation ceremony will be attended by the Synod Fathers, representatives of the lay faithful and religious from the eparchies, Superior Generals and other special guests only. The ceremony and the celebration of the Holy Qurbana will be broadcast live for everyone to view.
Fr Thattil, the Bishop of Shamshabad, is the fourth Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church. He was elected by the Synod of Bishops after Pope Francis, the head of Catholic Churches, accepted the resignation of Cardinal George Alencherry from the respective post. Fr Alenchery resigned on December 7, 2023.
“The election was formally announced simultaneously at the Vatican and Major Archiepiscopal Curia at Mount St Thomas at Kakkanad,” a statement issued by the Church on Wednesday said.
Bishop Raphael Thattil, 67, was born in Thrissur. He was ordained a priest in 1980 by Mar Joseph Kundukulam, in Dolours Basilica, Thrissur, the statement added.
Fr Thattil was consecrated Bishop in 2010 and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Thrissur and Titular Bishop of Brunie. In 2014, he was appointed as Apostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malabar. Pope Francis named him the first Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Shamshabad in 2017.