By Verghese V Joseph –
Bangalore: There’s a new team at the helm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI). Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur was elected as the new president at its ongoing 35th General Body Meeting at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru.
Archbishop George Antonysamy, Metropolitan Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore (Chennai) was elected first Vice President, while Bishop Mar Joseph Thomas, Bishop of the Eparchy of Batheri was elected as the second Vice President. Archbishop Felix Machado, Bishop of Vasai was re-elected as the Secretary-General for another term.
Before the elections, citing his age, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church His Eminence George Cardinal Alencherry announced that he would be unavailable for elections this time.
Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath is the third and the present Metropolitan Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur of the southern Indian State of Kerala from 2007.
Archbishop Andrews was born at Pudukkad, in Trichur district on 13 December 1951. He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Trichur on 14 March 1977. He holds Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and Doctor’s Degree in Eastern Canon Law (DOCL) from the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome. He was nominated the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Trichur on 19 March 2004 when he was serving as the president of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Ordinary Tribunal of Ernakulam–Angamaly, the Syncellus of the Archeparchy, the Working Chairman and Managing Director of Jeevan Telecasting Corporation and the President of the Oriental Canon Law Society of India.
He was ordained Bishop on the 1 May 2004. He was appointed as the Archbishop of Trichur on 22 January 2007. He was also the Secretary General and President of the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council (KCBC) and the Chairman of the KCBC Education Commission. He was the First Vice President of the CBCI.
Pope Francis appointed him in 2021 as one of the members of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, which interprets the laws of the Church. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath is a world-renowned expert in Oriental Code of Canon Law.
Archbishop George Antonysamy was born on Feb. 15, 1952 in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. He did his early school education in his native place and then joined St. Augustine’s Minor Seminary. On August 4, 2005, Monsignor George Antonysamy was elected as titular archbishop of Sulci in Sardinia, Italy, by Pope Benedict XVI and had his episcopal ordination on September 21, 2005 in Trichy.
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Archbishop George Antonysamy, then Apostolic Nuncio to West African Countries, as the new Archbishop of Madras and Mylapore on Nov. 21, 2012.
Bishop Joseph Mar Thomas was born as Joseph Konnath in the village of Vadaserikkara in the district of Pathanamthitta, on May 13, 1952. He He joined the St. Aloysius Seminary in June 1968. He entered Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye, for completing bachelor’s degree in theology. Later as part of his priestly studies. He was ordained priest on Dec. 23, 1978. After his ordination Father Joseph Konnathu served in various parishes. In 1979, he was sent to Kollam (Kadappakkada) as the first resident vicar of the St. Thomas Malankara Catholic Church, Kadappakada.
Bishop Joseph Thomas was appointed as the third bishop of the eparchy of Bathery. The enthronement of the new bishop was held on April 13, 2010.
Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado was born on June 6, 1948, in Remedy in Vasai diocese. He was ordained priest on Oct. 30, 1976, for the Archdiocese of Bombay. On May 22, 1998, he was incardinated in the diocese of Vasai. He was appointed as the Bishop of Nashik on Jan. 16, 2008, and was ordained on March 8, 2008. He was later transferred to the diocese of Vasai on Nov. 10, 2009, and was installed on Dec. 19, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI granted him the personal title of Archbishop.
The ongoing CBCI 35th General Body Meeting at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru continued its deliberations on Thursday. The day started off with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
His Eminence Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, Major-Archbishop Catholicos of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church celebrated the Holy Eucharist. In his Homily, Cardinal Cleemis reminded all the bishops about their various duties and ministries as Episkopoi of Jesus Christ: “The ministry of authentic teaching and the ministry witnessing. Just as St. Peter professed his faith in Jesus boldly that “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16) all the CBCI bishops are bound to profess the revealed Jesus all over India especially in the pluralistic context of our country. Bishops are the official teachers of the Church and so they have a confirmed duty of preaching Jesus everywhere they go and everywhere they live and witness Him through their ministries.”
Later during the day, Bishop Ivan Pereira presented the regional reports.
After the end of the sessions, there was a recollection. Rev. Fr. Edward Joseph, C.Ss.R, the Provincial Superior of the Redemptorists, gave the recollection talk.