India’s new Cardinal - George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly

(February 18, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals for the Catholic Church at an imposing public consistory held on Feb. 18 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Among them is Indian Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, the spiritual head of the over 4 million-strong eastern rite Syro-Malabar Catholics worldwide. The consistory, which is a gathering of cardinals with the Pope, was held for the creation of 22 new cardinals and to vote for 7 future saints who will be raised to the glory of the altar on Oct. 21 this year. At the consistory, Pope Benedict bestowed on each of the cardinals the red hat and the ring and assigned them a title or deaconry. Cardinal Alencherry has been assigned the title of San Bernardo alle Terme (the Roman Church of St. Bernard Church at the Baths). Below is a biography of Cardinal George Allencherry:

George Alencherry comes form a deeply pious Catholic family. He was born on 19th April 1945 in the parish of Thuruthy in the archdiocese of Changancherry, Kerala, India, as the sixth child of the ten children of Philipose and Mary Alencherry. Two of his brothers are priests (Fr. Jose Alencherry and Fr. Francis Alencherry, SDB) and one sister is religious (Sr. Cherupushpam, S.A.B.S.). Geevarghese is George Alencherry’s baptismal name. He had his primary schooling at St Mary’s School, Thuruthy and secondary education at St Berchman’s High School, Changanacherry. He began his priestly formation in 1961 at the archdiocesan minor seminary at Parel, Changanacherry. While he pursued his studies in the minor seminary, he obtained his B.A. in economics from St Berchman’s College, ranking second. After the minor seminary studies he was sent to St Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva where he completed his philosophical and theological studies. On 18 December 1972 Cardinal Antony Padiyara, the then archbishop of Chanagancherry, ordained him priest at St Mary’s Church, Thuruthy, for the archdiocese of Changanacherry. He then went on for higher studies at the Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy at Aluva, where he ranked first in the master’s degree. He was then appointed assistant vicar at the Cathedral Church of Changanacherry and Director of the Archdiocesan Faith Formation department. Thereafter, he served three years as secretary of the Commission for Catechism of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC). After his tenure in KCBC he was sent to Paris, France, where he obtained a doctorate in biblical theology from Sorbonne University and the Catholic Institute.
On returning to India in 1986 Fr. Alencherry was appointed director of the Pastoral Oriental Centre (POC) at Palarivattom and deputy secretary of KCBC until until 1993. Simultaneously he also served as professor at St Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor until 1997. From 1994 to 1996 he was the protosyncellus of the metropolitan of Changanacherry.
When Pope John Paul II established the diocese of Thuckalay on 11th November 1996 Fr. George Alencherry was appointed its first bishop. He was ordained bishop on 2nd February 1997 at Thuckalay by Mar Joseph Powathil, the then archbishop of Changanacherry. Bishop Alencherry then served the Syro-Malabar Church as secretary of the Synod of Bishops and chairman of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Commission for Catechism. He was also the chairman of the Commission for Laity of the catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
On May 24, 2011, the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church elected Bishop George Alencherry as the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, which Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the following day. He thus became the first elected spiritual head of the eastern rite Church, based in southern India’s Kerala state, whose members number over 4 million worldwide. The previous two heads had been appointed by the Pope. And on Feb. 18, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI made him cardinal along with 21 others from around the world. He is 11th Indian and the fourth Syro-Malabar cardinal of India. Late Cardinal Valerian Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, was the first Indian to become a cardinal in 1953. Other Latin rite cardinals from India are Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Simon Pimenta, late Lawrence Picachy, Ivan Dias, Telesphore Placidus Toppo and Oswald Gracias, the present Archbishop of Bombay. The previous Syro-Malabar cardinals have been Joseph Parecattil, Antony Padiyara and Varkey Vithayathil.
Cardinal George Alencherry has to his credit a Book entitled “Morality Today and Tomorrow” in Malayalam and a number of articles on various topics in English and Malayalam. He is fluent in Malayalam, Tamil, English and French.