Peter Celestine Elampassery OFM, Cap. (28 June 1938 – 27 May 2015) was the 2nd

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

Roman Catholic Diocese of Jammu–Srinagar The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jammu–Srinagar () is a diocese located in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi, Delhi in India. History Catholicism dates back to 1887 in Jammu ...

Early life

Peter was born on 28 June 1938, in

Muttuchira Muttuchira is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics As of the 2001 India census, Muttuchira had a population of 14,303 with 7,022 males and 7,281 females. It is a quiet farming village with rubber plantat ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. After completing matriculation he joined the

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars *Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters *Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...

and took his

vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddin ...

s in 1963.

Priesthood

Peter was ordained to the priesthood on 3 October 1966 in

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

congregation. He worked in the Agra mission of the

for some time. He was appointed Superior of the

in Northern India in 1980. He was sent to Jammu-Srinagar Mission as the Pro-

Prefect Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

. He was appointed first

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 ...

of the Diocese when it was created in 1986. He was transferred to

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Mission as the Provincial Delegate in 1997.

Episcopate

Elampassery was appointed 2nd

of the

, on 3 April 1998. His

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

was on 6 September 1998 and he retired in 2014. He succeeded Bishop Hippolytus Anthony Kunnkunal OFM, Cap. He suffered a stroke in July 2012. He resigned in 2013 due to deteriorating health. His resignation was accepted by 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 ...

on 3 December 2014.

Education

Peter Celestine received his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology. It began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. Definition Broadly speaking, missiology is "an interdisciplinary field of inquiry into Ch ...

from

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

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 in 1978.

Death

He died on 27 May 2015 at Assisi Ashram, Bharananganam, Kerala after prolonged illness and massive heart attack. He was 77.

Books

Early Capuchin Mission in India

Award

Dr. Peter Celestine Elampassery OFM, Cap Received

Gandhi Peace Award The Gandhi Peace Award is an award and cash prize presented annually since 1960 by Promoting Enduring Peace to individuals for "contributions made in the promotion of international peace and good will." It is named in honor of Mohandas Kara ...

from

Government of Jammu and Kashmir The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the principal administrative authority responsible for the governance of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Established on 5 March 1948 as the Government of Princely state of Jammu and Ka ...

for the formation of peace clubs in schools, cross-border dialogue, and inter-religious meets.

References

External links

1938 births 2015 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in India Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Christian clergy from Kottayam Christian clergy from Kerala 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India Capuchin bishops {{India-RC-bishop-stub