Jacob Muricken (born 16 June 1963) is an Indian Catholic

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, who is the former

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring tal ...

(2012-2022). He was ordained as a priest by

Joseph Pallikaparampil Mar Joseph Pallikaparambil is a bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the current Bishop Emeritus of Pala, Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district ...

on 27 December 1993. He served as an assistant vicar, boarding house rector, professor, secretary of Corporate Educational Agency, vicar at Chakkampuzha and Neeloor parishes. He was declared auxiliary bishop of

Palai Pallai (, ), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The town is located under the division of the Pachilaipally Divisional Secretary and is administered by the Pachilaipally Pradeshiya Sa ...

on 24 August 2012 while serving as the diocesan pastoral coordinator. His episcopal ordination was on 1 October 2012 by Joseph Perumthottam at St. Thomas Cathedral, Palai. In August 2022, Muricken said that "God inspires me to go into solitude" and resigned from his post as auxiliary bishop to continue his life as a hermit, moving to the hermitage following approval from the Syro-Malabar synod.

Early life and career

Jacob Muricken was born at

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 ...

village in

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 ...

. After his collegiate studies at Deva Matha College,

Kuravilangad Kuravilangad is an Indian town located in the northern part of the Kottayam district in Kerala. It is situated in the Meenachil taluk, about 22 km north of the district capital Kottayam and 17 km west of the municipal town Pala. Ku ...

from where he took a degree in economics and master's degree in economics from Government College Nattakom Kottayam and he joined Good Shepherd Minor Seminary, Palai. He did his ecclesiastical studies from St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary,

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

. He was ordained priest by then Bishop Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil on 27 December 1993 at his home parish

. After a short period of service as assistant vicar at St. Mary's Forane Church

, he was appointed rector of Savio Home Boarding House, attached to St. Joseph's EMHS,

Neeloor Neeloor is an agriculture-oriented rural village in the Taluk of Meenachil, Kottayam district, Kerala. The village is situated on the hill sides of Noorumala, Ellumpuram and Perumkunnu which are hills on the borders of Kottayam district and the ...

. Later he served the diocese in various capacities as professor at the diocesan minor seminary, secretary of Corporate Educational Agency, vicar at Chakkampuzha and

parishes.

Pastoral ministry

He was declared

Diocese of Palai The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam, an ...

on 24 August 2012 while serving as the pastoral coordinator of the diocese. His episcopal ordination was on 1 October 2012 by Joseph Perumthottam at St. Thomas Cathedral, Palai. On 19 September 2013, he along with the other newly appointed bishops from around the world, was received in audience by

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 ...

at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. As the general convenor, he was instrumental in the successful conduct of the 31st Plenary Assembly of Catholic Bishop's Conference of India (CBCI) which was hosted by the eparchy from 5 to 12 February 2014. At present he is serving as the chairman of

KCBC KCBC (770 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Christian talk and teaching radio format. It is Licensed to Manteca, California, with radio studios and offices in Oakdale. The station is owned by the Crawford Broadcasting Company ...

Commission for SC/ST/BC. He attended ''ad limina'' visit from 2 to 10 October 2019, along with Kallarangatt. He is also the manager of St. Thomas College, Palai,

Alphonsa College, Palai Alphonsa College, Pala, is a women's degree college located in Pala, Kottayam district, 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 ...

and St. Thomas Teacher Training College, Palai.

Living as a hermit

In August 2022, The Synod of Syro-Malabar Bishops approved Muricken's request to relieve himself from his post as auxiliary bishop of Palai to live his life as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

and still remain his title as a Bishop.

Services

Muricken donated his kidney to a youth who had a kidney malfunction. In 2020, he launched an online campaign – Justice for M3 (Maira, Minor, Minority) –— to "collectively take a stand against, and strongly condemn, the contemporary scenario of interminable discrimination against minorities, women, and specifically children around the globe." His campaign was focused on severe injustice towards women in Pakistan.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muricken, Jacob Syro-Malabar bishops People from Pala, Kerala Christian clergy from Kottayam 1963 births Living people