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Thomas Fernando was an Indian
Thomas Fernando was an Indian Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
bishop.
Early life
Fernando was born on 9 May 1913 in Idinthakarai, a coastal village Tirunelveli district and a Catholic parish of the Diocese of Tuticorin.Career
He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Tuticorin on 18 March 1939. After his higher studies in theology, Indian philosophy and canon law in Rome, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Tuticorin on 25 June 1950 and ordained bishop on 1 October 1950. He succeeded Bishop Francis Tiburtius Roche on 26 June 1953, as the second bishop of the diocese of Tuticorin. After twenty years of episcopal ministry in the diocese of Tuticorin, on 23 November 1970, he was transferred as bishop to the diocese of Tiruchirapalli.Achievements
He participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. Inspired by the spirit of the council, he became the forerunner in implementing its teachings inTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, by reforming liturgical and para-liturgical celebrations. He translated Latin liturgical texts into Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory o ...
. He promoted catechism, evangelization
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...
, liturgy, social communication, Tamil literature, culture and inter-religious dialogue. As bishop he founded Kalai Kaveri college for music to promote Catholic faith through fine arts. He established the congregation of the Sacred Heart Sisters, initially to take care of St Joseph Charity Home in Adaikalapuram, a diocesan rite congregation on 19 December 1954 to undertake mission work in the Tuticorin diocese. As bishop Tirichirapalli, he felt the need of the female missionary collaboraters, He founded a congregation of St Thomas Catechetical Sisters in Tirichirapalli. He is hailed for helping Tamil poet Kannadasan
Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...
write ''Yesu Kaviyam''. After 56 years as a bishop, he died on 4 July 2006.
References