2011-04-11 16:57:37

Thousands attend funeral of Cardinal Vithayathil


(April 11, 2011) Thousands of faithful on Sunday paid their last respects to Indian Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, as his body was laid to rest with full state honours at St Mary's Cathedral in Ernakulam, Kerala state. The 83-year old Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly died of cardiac arrest on April 1 in a private hospital in Ernakulam. Bishop Bosco Puthur, administrator of the Syro-Malabar Church performed the last rites of the late cardinal, which was attended by about 70 bishops and over 1,000 priests. Archbishop Cyril Vasil, Vatican delegate and secretary of Congregation for Oriental Churches represented Pope Benedict XVI at the funeral. Various government, civil and church dignitaries spoke at the condolence meeting held in the church. A message from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was read out during the meet. “In the passing away of Cardinal Vithayathil, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the entire Catholic Church in India lost a deeply committed and ever courageous spiritual leader,” said the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.







All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.