Palackal Thoma Malpan (c. 1780–1841) was an Indian Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the

Syro-Malabar Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

based in India. He was the senior priest and founder who envisaged the formation of the first native religious institution in India,

Carmelites of Mary Immaculate The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate () abbreviated CMI, formerly also known as the Servants of Mary Immaculate (), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and is the larg ...

also known as C.M.I. (the first native religious institute of the Eastern Catholic Church), and the founder of the first

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

for Syro-Malabar Catholics.

Life

Palackal Family

Palackal Thoma was born to the Palackal family, about 1780 in the village of Pallippuram, an ancient Christian priestly family in Kerala that trace their origin as Jewish lineage who were baptized by

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

, a disciple of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Kottakkavu Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Pilgrim Church is a Syro-Malabar church located in North Paravur. According to Saint Thomas Christian tradition, the church was established in 52 AD by St. Thomas (Mar Thoma shleeha), one of the twelve apo ...

, North Paravoor. Most Christians in Kerala are known as Syrian Christians in view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India. They are also known as "Nasrani" (followers of Jesus the Nazarene). Pallippuram, is now part of the state of

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 ...

, then in the

Kingdom of Travancore The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

. Thoma Palackal felt a call to the

Christian ministry Christian ministry is the vocational work of living and teaching about faith, in the hopes of increasing the population of God's people done by the church, church officials, congregational members, and Jesus followers. The '' Cyclopedia of Bib ...

, for which he pursued theological studies under a noted priest of the Syrian Church, Abraham Thachil. He received

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

in 1807. After Palackal's ordination he was named as Secretary for the

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

and a councilor to the

Vicariate Apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Malabar (now the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly The Archdiocese of Verapoly (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church, composed of Latin Catholics of Malabar and headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. The archdioc ...

), Raimundo di San Giuseppe Roviglia, who led them in the name of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in Rome. He would serve as a councilor to the

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

for the rest of his life. As a major leader of Syrian Catholic Church in India, Palackal introduced many Western practices among his people. These included the use of a Roman style white

cassock The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

by the clergy, in order to distinguish them from the clergy of the Jacobite Christians. Additionally, the use of a

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

and a graveyard with boundary wall were mandated for all churches and

confraternities A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, L ...

were established for the greater participation of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

in church services.

Educator and founder

Palackal returned to his hometown in 1818. After settling there, he found several young men who asked him to train them for the priesthood. He then opened a small

for this purpose. Among his first students was

Kuriakose Chavara Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, CMI (10 February 1805 – 3 January 1871) was an Indian Catholic priest, religious, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and was a member of the Sy ...

, who would later join him in forming the first

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

in the Syro-Malabar Church. They developed a paternal bond which lasted his whole life. Palackal insisted on the rigorous development of both soul and mind in his seminary. For the first, he wrote a Rule of life for the seminarians which was a strict routine of prayer and fasting. For the latter, he taught himself

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

so that he could translate the best spiritual resources printed in that language by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

into their native

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

for the benefit of his students. Palackal seems to have long held a desire for life in a religious community similar to that of the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

who led the Catholic faith in that region. He was joined in this by his student, Chavara. They found another like-minded priest of the Vicariate, Thomas Porukkara. In 1831 they were given the permission of the

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

Vicar Apostolic, Maurelio Stabellini, to establish a religious community. The Monastery of St. Joseph was then founded in Mannanam on 11 May of that year. The small community called themselves the "Servants of Mary Immaculate" and lived under the Rule of the Discalced

Third Order The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the goo ...

. In 1833 Palackal moved his seminary there to train the clergy of both the Vicariate and his new community.

Death

Palackal died in his native city on 16 January 1841. He was buried in the main altar of Pallippuram St. Mary's Church.St. Mary's Forane Church, Pallippuram "History"

Legacy

Chavara went on to found the

in 1855, after the death of his mentor. Today they serve the members of the Syro-Malabar Church around the world.

Life

Palackal Family

Educator and founder

Death

Legacy

References

Further reading