Thrissur: Bishop Sebastian Francis of Penang in Malaysia says his maiden visit to India’s Trichur archdiocese would help him rediscover his ancestral roots.
Bishop Francis, who was given a rousing welcome in the Kerala archdiocese, told reporters that his grandparents had emigrated to Malaysia (then Malaya) in 1890s when the British ruled the two countries. The bishop’s family belonged to the Mechery family of Ollur in Thrissur (formerly Trichur) district.
The 65-year-old prelate said he knew some of his maternal relatives live in Chennai, capital of neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, but had little contact with them.
Bishop Francis’ family in Malaysia comprises five brothers and four sisters, who are now full-fledged Malaysian citizens. They have never visited India until now since they had not links with their Indian relatives.
He was born November 11, 1951, in Johor Bahru, which was then a part of the Federation of Malaya. In 1967, he joined St. Francis Xavier’s Minor Seminary in Singapore. Three years later he enrolled in the College General, a major seminary in Penang, where he studied theology. He was ordained a priest for Malacca-Johor diocese on July 28, 1977.
The young priest obtained a licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and a degree in Justice and Peace from Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, in 1991. In 2003, he was appointed the vicar general of Malacca-Johor diocese, a position he held until his appointment as the bishop of Penang in 2012.
His interest in his Indian roots was revived during the eleventh plenary assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 28-December 4. He met several Indian prelates and delegates including Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, during the plenary. When the Kerala archbishop learned about Bishop Francis’s roots, he invited him to visit the southern Indian state.
The Archdiocese of Trichur organized a grand reception at the Lourdes Cathedral in Thrissur on June 18. Besides Archbishop Thazhath, Bishop Francis was welcomed by Auxiliary Bishop Raphael Thattil and a number of priests and laypeople.
Although Malaysian food was on the menu, the visiting prelate surprised his hosts saying that he preferred Kerala food eaten with hands, as is traditional in southern India. He recounted fond memories of his mother cooking Kerala cuisine. His father managed an Indian restaurant named ‘Kera’ (coconut). In the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lampur, the bishop’s brother now manages a restaurant by the same name.
In the little Malayalam, (native language of Kerala) that Bishop Francis could remember, he thanked everyone for their welcome and affection. He expressed the hope that he would soon be to trace his relatives in Kerala.
Bishop Francis is the fifth head of the diocese of Penang. He succeeded Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayagam. Bishop Francis is currently the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
In 2016, Penang State Governor Yang di-Pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang conferred the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award that carries the title Datuk to Bishop Francis.