By C.M. Paul
Palavayal: A parish in northern Kerala has honored its illustrious missioner working in northeastern India
St John’s parish of Palavayal under Tellicherry archdiocese in Kasargode district on June 11 honored Salesian Fr. Thomas Kalapurackal, who has been working among the Mising tribal community of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for the past 33 years.
A plaque and a shawl were presented to 60-year-old missioner in the presence of about 800 parishioners.
“It is a matter of pride for the parish to hear about the excellent missionary work done by Fr. Thomas, and especially about the number of local, national and international awards he has received. The awards are particularly praiseworthy because they were given for his work for marginalized people, for serving the poor,” said parish priest Fr. Thomas Pattamkulam.
Tom Vattoth, coordinator of the parish council and Sunday School headmaster, gave a short life story of Fr. Kalapurackal and elaborated on the number of awards received by him.
“Fr. Thomas is so near, yet so far. He is from our church, but works about 3,000 km away in Northeast India. We hardly see him, except when he comes for his home visit and that too with young people of Northeast India,” Vattoth said.
Fr Kalapurackal is the founder-director of Institution for Culture And Rural Development at Jorhat in Assam that focus on training young Mising tribal people in leadership to serve their community.
In his thanksgiving address Fr. Kalapurackal said: “I stand in the middle, as Pope Francis mentioned, in northeast India, looking at the periphery, serving those who matter most, the under privileged. I was anointed at my priestly ordination, with the sacred chrism in this parish, and sent to the periphery.”
He ended his talk by kneeling down in the middle of the Church and asking the people to pray over him.
Fr. Kalapurackal was ordained a priest in St. John’s on the day the new church was consecrated on December 26, 1983.