Thomas Padiyath (born 14 January 1969) is an Indian Catholic prelate 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 ...

in India, currently serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Eparchy of Shamshabad.

Biography

Early life and studies

Padiyath was born in

Ettumanoor Ettumanoor () is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Ettumanoor has a ...

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 ...

, on 14 January 1969, in the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry (; is a Catholic East-Syriac Rite archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala ...

. He completed his pre degree and degree from St Berchmans College Changanasserry. When Padiyath decided to join the priesthood, He began his formation at the Minor Seminary of St. Thomas in Kurichy. He then went to St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluva for his Philosophy and Theology studies. After the completion of his studies, He was ordinated by Archbishop

Joseph Powathil Mar Joseph Powathil () (14 August 1930 – 18 March 2023) was an Indian prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Changanassery, serving from 1985 until 2007. He was also the first bi ...

on 19 December 1994. After his ordination, Archbishop Powathil sent him to the

Catholic University of Louvain 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 ...

where he received a doctorate in philosophy and licentiate in theology.

Ministry

After he returned to India from

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

, he began his ministry as an Assistant Priest before being appointed by Powathil to be the Secretary of Archbishop of

Changanacherry Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 I ...

. After his service, He became a professor at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kunnoth, Jyothi Seminary and Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Mater Dei Institute in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, Paurastya Vidyapitham in Vadavathoor, the St. Charles Seminary in Namibia and the CANA Institute in Thuruthy. After his service in Education, Joseph Perumthottam appointed him Vicar General of

Auxiliary Of Shamshabad

On 25 August 2022,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

announced and approved of the election of Padiyath as one of the two auxiliary bishops for

Shamshabad Shamshabad is a census town in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad mandal of Rajendranagar revenue division. Sri Vendikonda Siddalingeswara Devastanam temple is situated in Siddulagutta Road in Shamshabad mandal. The inter ...

by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Synod. He was consecrated on 9 October 2022, by Cardinal

George Alencherry George Alencherry (; born 19 April 1945) is the Major Archbishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church after serving in the position from 2011 to 2023. He is also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the ...

. He was appointed by

Raphael Thattil Raphael Thattil () (born 21 April 1956) is an Indian prelate who serves as the List of major archbishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, the largest Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Church, a ...

, the Eparch of Shamshabad, special charge over the Etawah-Rajasthan region for the Eparchy.

References

1969 births Living people Syro-Malabar bishops {{India-RC-bishop-stub