Joseph Kariyil (born 11 January 1949) is an Indian prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who was bishop of Cochin from 2009 to 2024.

Biography

Joseph Kariyil was born on 11 January 1949 in Arthunkal, near

Alleppey Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

. He was ordained a priest on 19 December 1973 by Bishop Alexander Edezhath at Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, Fort Cochin. He was appointed as the

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 ...

Punalur Punalur is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It is in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River and footh ...

on 12 March 2005 and was consecrated on 3 May 2005. He was appointed Bishop of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

on 8 May 2009. He was installed in as the Bishop of Cochin on 5 July 2009. His role as the bishop of Cochin made great developments in the diocese, when he installed as the bishop of Cochin, there were 38 parishes and now there are 51 parishes in the diocese. On 2 March 2024, Pope Francis officially accepted bp Joseph Kariyil's resignation due to retirement age of 75 according to the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of Ecclesiastical Law, ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the sec ...

He studied at Alphonsian Academy, Alphonciano Academy,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He served the Church in the capacities of an assistant Vicar,

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

and the editor of Talent Magazine. He also served as the Director of Pastoral Orientation Centre and as the

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Cochin diocese.

Offices Held

Roman Catholicism in India The Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope. There are over 23 million Catholics in India,Diocesan directory www.ucanews.com
www.cochindiocesanbulletin.org – Bishop Joseph Kariyil was installed as the 35th Bishop of Cochin Diocese * official website *
News Site of the Catholic Bishop's Conference
*https://ccbi.in/ Bp Joseph Kariyil JMJ 2023

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kariyil, Joseph 1949 births Living people Christian clergy from Alappuzha district 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in India Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI

Biography

Offices Held

See also