Bangalore 17 December 2020 (CCBI): Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Most Rev. Joseph Kalathiparambil (68) Archbishop of Verapoly as one of the members of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples for five years. This was made on 13 October, 2020. It is the second time he became the member of the Congregation. The first appointment was from 2011 to 2016.
Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil was born on 6 October 1952 at Vaduthala, in Ernakulam district, Kerala. He was ordained priest on 13 March 1978. He is specialized in Canon Law from Rome and was appointed Vice Rector of Collegio San Paolo in Rome from 1984 to 1989. Later he returned to Kerala and was appointed Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Verapoly on 15 August 1989. He served as the Chancellor for the Archdiocese from 1989 to 1996.
He was granted the title of Chaplain of His Holiness, Monsignor, in 1989 by Pope St. John Paul II. He served as the Vicar-General of the Archdiocese from 1996 to 2002. He was advanced to the papal Prelacy of Honour on 31 January 2001. He was nominated fifth Bishop of Calicut on 19 April 2002 and was ordained bishop on 19 May 2002.
He served as the Bishop of Calicut for 9 years and was then appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants on 22 February 2011. On 5 March 2011 he was also appointed as a Member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On 31 October 2016 he was appointed as the ninth Archbishop of Verapoly.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Alathara
Deputy Secretary General, CCBI