By Jessy Joseph
New Delhi, May 1, 2020: Bishop Mathew Anikuzhikattil, the first bishop of Idukki and founder of pro-life movement in Kerala, died early morning on May 1 after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
The end came at the Medical College Hospital managed by the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church in Kolenchery, Kerala. He was under treatment for kidney related problems.
A message from the diocesan headquarters says Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, will lead the funeral services on May 5 at St George Cathedral Church in Vazhathoppu, a town in Kerala’s Idukki district.
Bishop John Nellikkunnel, the current head of Idukki diocese, says his people are sad because only a few of them can join the funeral service because of the lockdown restrictions to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Idukki, a hilly region, is one of the hotspots for the virus infection in Kerala.
Mourning Anikuzhikattil’s death, Bishop Nellikkunnel says the people of Idukki have lost a “vibrant” leader. Most Catholics in the diocese are descendants of people from Kottayam and other districts who had settled down in the High Ranges since late 1950s.
The Idukki diocese was erected by Pope John Paul II on January 15, 2003, by carving it out from the Kothamangalam Syro-Malabar diocese. Bishop Anikuzhikattil, who led the diocese for 15 years, “worked for the social and spiritual advancement of peasants in the High Ranges,” Bishop Nellikkunnel told Matters India over phone.
Bishop Nellikkunnel recalled his predecessor’s vehement opposition to two federal commissions that blamed the settlers for the High Ranges’ ecological problems. Bishop Anikuzhikattil “had always acted as the voice of farmers and the poor in the diocese,” Bishop Nellikkunnel added.
“The people of Idukki are very much indebted to Bishop Anikuzhikattil who had fought for the rights of the people and always used to talk about their plights,” Bishop Nellikkunnel said and commended the deceased prelate’s love for the Idukki people. “He had high dreams about the High Range.”
Bishop Anikuzhikattil was the founder of pro-life movement in Kerala. In a 2016 message to the Catholics in Kerala he had cautioned them against “materialistic achievements and luxuries have started eroding the belief in God. Parents who get rid of babies fearing children will be a hurdle for their lifestyle are now suffering.”
Bishop Anikuzhikattil was born on September 23, 1942, at Kuruvanal in Pala diocese of Kerala. He was the third among 15 children. His four brothers are priests and four sisters are sisters of various congregations.
His parents migrated to Kunchithanny in Idukki where he completed his primary education. He joined St Joseph minor seminary, Kothamangalam in 1961. He was ordained a priest on March 18, 1971. He served .Kothamangalam diocese in various capacities until he was appointed the Idukki bishop.
He did his higher studies in theology from the Catholic University of Leuven. He served as the rector of St Joseph’s minor seminary in 2000. At the time of appointment as bishop he was the diocesan chancellor and secretary to Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam.
Anikuzhikkatil resigned as Idukki bishop on September 23, 2017, at the age of 75.
The diocese has some 250,000 Catholics in 36,000 families. It has 106 parishes and some 50 substations served by 200 priests.