Pope Francis appoints Bishop of Kannur, India

Vatican City, 1 February 2014: Pope Francis has appointed on Saturday Father Alex Joseph Vadakumthala, to be the Bishop of Kannur, in the Southern Indian state of Kerala. He is currently the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Verapoly. The Diocese of Kannur has been vacant since 15 May 2012, following the transfer of Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal to Calicut diocese.

Father Alex was born on 14 June 1959, in Maradu- Panangad, in the district of Ernakulam, and in the Archdiocese of Verapoly. He began his studies in Panangad then continued to St. Joseph's Minor Seminary in Ernakulam. He completed Philosophy and Theology at the Seminary of Pune. He was ordained a priest on 19 December 1984 at the Cathedral of Verapoly and incardinated in the same archdiocese.

After ordination he held the following positions:
1984 - Assistant priest in the Cathedral of Verapoly
1985-1988: St. Philomina’s Church, Koonammavu
1988-1992: Studied in Rome for a doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Urban University
1993-1999: Official of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care;
1999-2009: Secretary General of the CBCI Commission for Health for two terms
2009: Lecturer and Attorney at St. Joseph 's Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye
2009-2011: Assistant to the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, Director of Communications Arts Cochin Verapoly, Sub Station of Mamkkapady, Project Director for the CBCI Society of Medical Education in North India, Ranchi.
2009-2013: President of the Canon Law Society of India
since 2011: Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Verapoly

The Diocese of Kannur (1998), suffragan of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, has an area of 4,988 square kilometers and a population of 2.772 million, of whom 50,768 are Catholics. There are 59 parishes served by 122 priests (46 diocesan and 76 religious), 112 religious brothers, 580 sisters and 16 major seminarians.
Source: VR Sedoc