Cardinal-designate Alencherry: Christian witness to the world most urgent need
by Nirmala Carvalho
The cardinal-designate is the spiritual leader of 4 million faithful in India, Gulf Countries, Europe, America. Making Christ known to the world is the most important concern for the Church in India and for the universal Church.
Ernakulam-Angamaly (AsiaNews) - "The greatest need is that of Christian witness in the family, church institutions, in all the missionary work”, says Geoge Alencherry, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro -Malabar, who yesterday was named a cardinal-designate by Benedict XVI.
Interviewed by AsiaNews, a few hours after the publication of his appointment, he stresses: "The most urgent concern is that the message and the testimony of the Church's life is made more real in the world, according to the mind of Christ and the spirit of the Church" .
Major Archbishop Alencherry is the leader of the Syro-Malabar Synod since May 2011. His appointment followed the death of Card. Varkey Vithayathil.
The cardinal-designate was born in 1945, to a Catholic family in Kerala, the sixth of ten children. Two of his brothers are priests and one sister is a nun. Ordained a priest in November 1972, he attended the Sorbonne and graduated in catechesis at the Catholic Institute of Paris.
On returning to India in 1986, he worked in the Catechetical Centre of Changanacherry and as a teacher at St Thomas Apostolic Seminary Vadavathoor. John Paul II appointed him bishop of the diocese of New Thuckalay on 11 November 1996.
The cardinal-designate speaks fluent Malayam, Tamil, English and French. To his credit he has also published many books and articles. He is the spiritual leader of about 4 million faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church, which dates back to St. Thomas the Apostle, popular in India, the Gulf countries, Europe and the United States (Chicago).
"This nomination – he tells AsiaNews - is a recognition of the Apostolic See and in particular of Benedict XVI to the Syro-Malabar Church."
"For me personally, [the nomination] adds responsibilities to my office of archbishop. It means that I will have to take even greater care of the universal Church and bear witness to Christ in the world. The Feast of the Epiphany [when the new Consistory was announced] is the feast of the manifestation of Christ to the world. The unity of the Church and of the cardinals with the Pope should make his presence manifest. I would like to dedicate myself with even more care to this task".
Interviewed by AsiaNews, a few hours after the publication of his appointment, he stresses: "The most urgent concern is that the message and the testimony of the Church's life is made more real in the world, according to the mind of Christ and the spirit of the Church" .
Major Archbishop Alencherry is the leader of the Syro-Malabar Synod since May 2011. His appointment followed the death of Card. Varkey Vithayathil.
The cardinal-designate was born in 1945, to a Catholic family in Kerala, the sixth of ten children. Two of his brothers are priests and one sister is a nun. Ordained a priest in November 1972, he attended the Sorbonne and graduated in catechesis at the Catholic Institute of Paris.
On returning to India in 1986, he worked in the Catechetical Centre of Changanacherry and as a teacher at St Thomas Apostolic Seminary Vadavathoor. John Paul II appointed him bishop of the diocese of New Thuckalay on 11 November 1996.
The cardinal-designate speaks fluent Malayam, Tamil, English and French. To his credit he has also published many books and articles. He is the spiritual leader of about 4 million faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church, which dates back to St. Thomas the Apostle, popular in India, the Gulf countries, Europe and the United States (Chicago).
"This nomination – he tells AsiaNews - is a recognition of the Apostolic See and in particular of Benedict XVI to the Syro-Malabar Church."
"For me personally, [the nomination] adds responsibilities to my office of archbishop. It means that I will have to take even greater care of the universal Church and bear witness to Christ in the world. The Feast of the Epiphany [when the new Consistory was announced] is the feast of the manifestation of Christ to the world. The unity of the Church and of the cardinals with the Pope should make his presence manifest. I would like to dedicate myself with even more care to this task".
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