By Matters India Reporter
Kochi, Aug 6, 2020: A Marian hymn sung by a Catholic archbishop in Kerala, southern India, has become a hit on social media platforms.
“This is the first time in the history of the Indian Church that an archbishop has sung in a studio for a Christian album,” says Father John Puthuva, who wrote the lyric for “Japamaala Kayyil” (Rosary in Hand), a Malayalam hymn sung by Archbishop Antony Kariyil, episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly.
“Around 20,000 people from all over the world have viewed the video so far. Their number is increasing,” Father Puthuva told Matters India on August 6.
The hymn speaks of a boy getting the rosary first time from his mother, who then takes him to the Blessed Mother to pray. The mother then prays from the depths of her heart, “Hail Mary, Full of Grace.” She also tells him that that there is miracle in the picture of Mother Perpetual Help. On all Saturdays, she takes him to Mary and he experiencing his heart getting adorned with colorful flowers.
The hymn was released on social media on July 28, the feast of Saint Alphonsa, India’s first woman saint, and 125th anniversary of the erection of the Syro-Malabar archdiocese, the priest explained.
“The idea came from me. I knew the archbishop sings well, so I decided to invite him to sing for my next album,” he added.
The priest’s team organized audio and video shoots on June 17 and the post production works took another month.
Father Puthuva said the archbishop practiced the tune the team had provided him in advance.. “He took only three days to study the music. He studied it well whenever he got some free time. He also said he prayed before studying the song,” added the priest, who is currently the parish priest of St George Church Kalady, a parish under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
The video received rave reviews. “The response was tremendous and everyone said they liked the song’s touching lines. They also found the archbishop singing so well,” said Father Puthuva, who has made 25 albums of audio and video.
Archbishop Kariyil, a member of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, took over the administration of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese on August 30, 2019.
Earlier, he was the bishop of Mandya, a Syro-Malabar diocese in neighboring state of Karnataka.
Archbishop Kariyil was born on March 26, 1950, in Chalil, Cherthala, in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. He made his first profession in the CMI Congregation on in 1967 and was ordained a priest on December 27, 1977.
He served as the professor and later principal of Christ College (now Christ University), Bengaluru, from 1978 to 1997. He was principal of Rajgiri College of Social Sciences, Kalamassery from 1997 to 2002 and from 2011 to 2015 Director of Rajgiri College of Social Sciences, Rajagiri Business School and Rajgiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi.
He was the superior general of the CMI Congregation from 2002 to 2008 after which he served as the provincial of Sacred Heart Province, Kochi till 2011.