Rajarethinam Arokiasamy Sundaram (RA Sundaram) (10 June 1905-28 August 1998) was an Indian

Catholic 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 ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who served as Bishop of Thanjavur (then known as Tanjore) from 4 February 1953 to 12 September 1986. Beside his pastoral works, the bishop's multidimensional approach to the promotion of education and socio-cultural economic measures benefited different sections of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

society.

Early life

Sundaram was the first son of Rajarathinam and Lourdu Mary, in a devout family of Valampuri, Thanjavur. He finished his school education in Thanjavur and

Palayamkottai Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli, Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani rive ...

. He joined St. Joseph's College,

Thiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Tam ...

for higher studies.

Priesthood

After finishing his studies, Sundaram decided to work for a few years and then join the seminary. For a short period, he taught English at the St. Xavier's college, Palayamkottai. He got an offer to work as a professor of physics at St. Joseph's College, Darjeeling. After three years, Sundaram joined the minor seminary at

Santhome Santhome is a locality in Mylapore in Chennai city (formerly Madras) in India. History The word ''Santhome'' or ''San Thome'' is derived from Thomas the Apostle, Saint Thomas. The tradition is that he was martyred in AD 72 at St.Thomas Mount in ...

. Sundaram joined the Urban College in

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, ...

to enable his ordination in six years. He was an outstanding seminarian there at Urban college and a member of the literary association, editing and publishing newsletters and compering programs in the Radio Vatican. Sundaram was ordained priest in 1941. Fr. Sundaram celebrated his first two mass in the St. Paul's Cathedral and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Bishop of Thanjavur

Fr. Sundaram was appointed assistant Parish Priest at

Vallam Vallam is a panchayat town in the Thanjavur taluk of Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics 2011 Indian census, Vallam has a population of 14,495. Males constituted 48% and females 52%. Vallam has an average lite ...

. Fr. Sundaram was appointed Headmaster of Santhome High School, Mylapore. His efforts bring this school as one of the best schools in the city, within a short period. The Diocese of Thanjavur was created on 22 November 1952 and Fr. Sundaram assumed charge in 1953 as First Bishop of Thanjavur. He formed two social service societies at Thanjavur and

Pudukkottai Pudukkottai Municipal Corporation is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest Heritage city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different t ...

that helped uplift the status of the poor. Some of their schemes had been unique and innovative and one among them was providing lands to the landless. Because of his efforts, there is phenomenal increase in the number of educational, religious and social welfare institutions in and around

. Even today, the diocese of Thanjavur has the highest number of boarding homes for students in India. ;Our Lady of Health Hospital Our Lady of Health Hospital was the outcome of the ardent desire of Fr. Sundaram to render medical help to the sick and the needy people of Thanjavur. Because of Fr. Sundaram's efforts, on 4 April 1961 the hospital was opened by Mrs. Lourdammal Simon Minister of Local administrative of Tamil Nadu with 16 beds and 3 sisters. Currently this hospital has 200 beds in this half of beds free of cost. This hospital has multiple wards like Medical Ward, Surgical Ward, Maternity Ward, Pediatric Ward, Gynecology Ward, Ophthalmology Ward, Operation Theater, Casualty and Emergency unit and Out Patient department.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundaram, Rajarethinam Arokiasamy 1905 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India