Aboon Samuel Mor Irenios Kattukallil (born 13 May 1952) is an Indian Syro-Malankara Catholic

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

. He is currently

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

of the

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...

. He succeeded Yoohanon Chrysostom Kalloor on 7 June 2019 and became the second bishop of the eparchy, which was erected in 2010.

Family and education

Kattukallil was born 13 May 1952 in Kadammanitta in

Pathanamthitta District Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalitie ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

of his parents K. C. Thomas and Annamma Kattukallil. He received secondary education at Government High School, Kadamanitta, did a pre-degree course at

Mar Ivanios College Mar Ivanios College is an autonomous educational institution situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The college was ranked as 45th best college in the country by Ministry of Education's National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2023, ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

, minor seminary at St. Aloysius, Trivandrum, and philosophy and theology at St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Aluva (Alwaye). He also holds BA, MA, and PhD degrees in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

language and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

from the

University of Kerala University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithi ...

. The doctorate was awarded in 1995 for a dissertation on

Malayalam poetry Malayalam poetry is poetry written, spoken, or composed in Modern, as well as Old and Classical, Malayalam. History The history of Malayalam poetry dates back to the 12th century; the earliest poetic work in a near-Malayalam language, or what ...

. Kattukallil also studied at the

Tantur Ecumenical Institute Tantur Ecumenical Institute is an international ecumenical institute for advanced theological research in Jerusalem. Goals and objectives "No one climbs up to Tantur except to follow a vocation, the same vocation that led on the pioneers of ecu ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Ministry and academic service

Kattukallil was ordained to the priesthood 22 December 1978 for the archeparchy of

by its Archbishop Benedict Varghese Gregorios Thangalathil and served in a number of parishes. He was editor-in-chief of ''Christhava Kahalam'', the official journal of the Trivandrum archeparchy, and the archeparchy's

syncellus ''Synkellos'' (), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major importance in the state, and ...

(episcopal vicar) (2007–10). He was Vice Rector of St. Aloysius Minor Seminary (1978-1985);

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

Bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

(1985 to 1995), eventually Principal of Mar Ivanios College; and Principal of St John's College, Anchal (2000-2006). He has served on many academic boards including the Board of Studies of the University of Kerala, the Academic Council of

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 When Indian Union Muslim league leader Sri. ET Muhammed Basheer was the. Education minister of Kerala in Kalady, Kochi, Kerala. The founda ...

Kalady Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th ce ...

, and the

National Literacy Mission The National Education Mission (Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan) is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12, launched in 2018. It was allocated a budget of in the 2019 Interim Union Budget of Indi ...

. Kattukallil has published extensively. His works include ''Karutha Chiriyude Kavi'', on the poetry of

Ayyappa Paniker Kavalam Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt Ayyappa Panicker (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was a Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthet ...

, and ''Prakashathinte Utsavam'', reflections on life broadcast on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

in Trivandrum. He edited ''Dhanya Jeevitham'' and ''Visvasavum Vikasanavum'', two anthologies on the life and vision of the archbishop who ordained him, Benedict Mar Gregorios. He is a regular broadcaster and contributor to print media.

Episcopacy

On 25 January 2010 Kattukallil was appointed

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Trivandrum and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Tamalluma Tamalluma is a former Roman city which remains a Latin Catholic titular bishopric History The city was at Telmin, an oasis in present Tunisia, one of many in the Roman province of Byzacena, which were suffragan of the Metropolitan Archbishopric H ...

. He was ordained bishop 13 March 2010 by Major Archbishop, Moran Mor

Baselios Cleemis Baselios Cleemis (born 15 June 1959) is the current Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was made a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. At the time of his elevation, he was the you ...

Catholicos. On 10 April 2018 Kattukallil was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Pathanamthitta and succeeded when Kalloor resigned on 7 June 2019.

Controversies

Mar Irenios and his five priests were arrested on 6 February 2022 on charges of alleged illegal sand mining, but Church officials said they are being implicated in the case. Bishop Samuel Mar Irenios and five priests including a vicar general of Pathanamthitta Diocese in southern Kerala state were arrested by neighboring Tamil Nadu state's crime branch officials accusing them of illegally mining river sand. The case pertains to large-scale mining of river sand from a plot of land adjacent to a check dam on Thamirabarani river near Pottal in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district. The 300-acre plot is owned by the Pathanamthitta diocese and was leased out to Manuel George for farming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kattukallil, Samuel Irenios Indian Eastern Catholic bishops Syro-Malankara bishops 1952 births Living people People from Pathanamthitta district