Stephen Alathara (born 1 May 1970) is the deputy secretary general of the

Conference of Catholic Bishops of India The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India or CCBI, is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in India, functioning in accordance with canon 447. There are 132 Latin Catholic dioceses in the ...

(CCBI). He started as the deputy secretary general of the conference on 10 June 2014. He was appointed to this post three times consecutively in 2014, 2018 and 2022. He is the first priest from Kerala to serve as the deputy secretary general of the national

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

. He is also the National Director o
Communio India
Executive Secretary to the CCB
Commission for Boundary
Chief Functionary of the Episcopal Conference, the Director of CCBI Centre., Bangalore, the Director o
Shanti Sadan
CCBI Secretariat Extension, Benaulim, Goa and the Editor of the CCBI News. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India is the largest canonical national episcopal conference in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. There are 132 dioceses and 182 bishops under the conference. He is a priest from the

Archdiocese of Verapoly The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) 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 Kera ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

and a prolific author,

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short ess ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

ist,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and visiting professor in various ecclesiastical universities. He is well known for his lectures and workshops. He is the author of 16 books as well as hundreds of articles. His book ''Introduction to Catechetics'' is the textbook for Catechetics in many major seminaries in India and abroad.

Biography

Alathara was born on 1 May 1970 as the eldest son of Alathara Joseph and Joan at

Moolamattom Moolamattom is the headquarters of Arakulam Panchayath in Thodupuzha Taluk, Idukki district in Kerala, India. It lies 22 km from Thodupuzha, on the banks of the Thodupuzha River, a tributary of the Muvattupuzha river. Moolamattom is famou ...

in Idukki district. He had his education in Govt. L.P. School Kulamavu, SPWHS Alwaye and St. Paul's College

Kalamassery Kalamassery () is a major industrial region in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It houses companies like Apollo Tyres and HMT; IT/Electronics Parks like KINFRA Hi Tech Park, Startup Village, and Electronics City. Kalamasser ...

. His priestly formation began on 16 June 1985 at St. Joseph Minor Seminary, Kalamassery. After completing his priestly studies at Carmelgiri Seminary and Mangalapuzha Seminary, both in Alwaye, he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 January 1995 by late Archbishop of Verapoly Most Rev. Cornelius Elenjikal. He has obtained an MTH in Catechetics and an MDHA in Hospital Administration. He also acquired a PhD from the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of t ...

in Rome for his dissertation 'The Role of the Teachers in the Moral and Faith Formation of the Children'. He has rendered his service to the Archdiocese of Verapoly as the Assistant Parish Priest of Holy Family Parish, Perumpilly, the vice Rector of the Minor Seminary, the Director of the Catechetical Department, Director of the Family Apostolate, General Convener of the Great Jubilee of Yesu Christhu Jayanthi, the Parish Priest of St. James church, Cheranellur, the Director of the Kristu Jayanthi Hospital, a unit of Lourdes Hospital, He was also the director of the Public Relations Department for the archdiocese and a spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Verapoly. He served the Catholic Church in Kerala for eight years (2007–2014) as the official spokesperson and Deputy Secretary General of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), which is the association of the bishops from three sui iuris Churches, namely Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara. He was the Director of the Pastoral Orientation Centre (POC), which is the common pastoral animation centre of the Church in Kerala for the three individual Churches, located at Cochin, Kerala.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alathara, Stephen 1970 births Living people 21st-century Indian Roman Catholic priests Indian expatriates in Italy Salesian Pontifical University alumni

Biography

See also

References