Thousands march to celebrate first Syro Malabar Church in Kerala

(February 16, 2011) More than 1,000 people joined a 120-kilometer trip to mark 75 years since the establishment of the first Syro-Malabar Church in India\’s Malabar region. The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), the Oriental Church’s first religious congregation for men, organized the February 13 march, which retraced a journey undertaken by its first missionary to the region.
Fr. Athanasius Payyappilly reached Calicut diocese after walking 120 kilometers from Trichur archdiocese in 1934. Two years later, he established the first Syro-Malabar Church in Kadalundi. Italian Jesuit missionaries running the Calicut Latin rite diocese, had asked CMI priests to come and serve Syro-Malabar Catholics, who had migrated to Malabar from central Kerala. Participants celebrating the anniversary walked and travelled on special buses to cover the distance in four hours. Retired Archbishop Jacob Thoomkuzhy of Trichur, a native of Malabar, credited Fr. Payyappilly for nurturing the Syro-Malabar Church in the region. He “lived with migrants facing the threat of wild animals and deadly diseases.” Bishop Remigious Inchananiyil of Thamarassery said CMI missionaries have contributed immensely to the social and educational advancement of the Malabar region ever since.