The Eparchy of Palghat is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, centred on the town of

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, in South India. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

bishopric of the Archdiocese of Trichur. The current bishop is Peter Kochupurackal, who was appointed in 2022.

History of Diocese of Palghat (Palakkad)

Mar Jacob Manathodath and Mathai Payyappilly Palakkappilly

The Eparchy of Palghat was erected on 20 June 1974, through the Decree "Apostolico Requirente" by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

, bifurcating the eparchy of Trichur and adding into the territory of the new eparchy a few parishes of the eparchy of Tellichery, which were in the district of Palakkad. It was a suffragan of the

Archdiocese of Ernakulam In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The eparchy was inaugurated on 8 September 1974. The episcopal ordination of Msgr. Joseph Irimpen and his assumption of office as the first bishop of the eparchy took place on the same day. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Trichur. The eparchy covers an area of 28515 km² and it comprises the civil district of Palakkad in Kerala and the districts of Coimbatore, Erode, Karur and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu. At the time of the inauguration of the Eparchy it had a total of 16 parishes and 8 stations. The number of diocesan priests was 14 and that of the adherents was 20810. It has now 69057 adherents, 127 priests incarnated to it and 99 parishes and 45 stations. Bishop Irimpen retired from his office on 6 December 1994 and died on 23 August 1997. Msgr. Joseph Veliyathil served the Eparchy as its Administrator from 6 December 1994 to 1 February 1997. Pope John Paul II nominated Bishop Jacob Manathodath, then the Auxiliary Bishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly as the Bishop of Palghat on 11 November 1996. Bishop Manathodath took canonical possession of the eparchy on 1 February 1997. The diocese of Palghat was bifurcated and a new diocese, named Ramanathapuram, was erected on 18 January 2010.

Statistics of the Diocese of Palghat ()

Diocese of Palghat - Geographical Area, 4,480 km² (Palakkad Dt) * Catholic Families: 12,521 * Catholics: 56,668 * Priests: ** Diocesan 121 ** Working 8 *

Religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

Men 59 * Religious Women 1,051 * Diocesan Seminarians : ** Theologians 15 ** Regents 11 ** Philosophers 25 ** Minor Seminarians 34 * Foranes 8 * Parishes 74 * Stations 43

References

External links

Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palghat Eastern Catholic dioceses in India Archdiocese of Thrissur Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses Christian organizations established in 1974 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1974 establishments in Kerala