Rome: The Claretian missionaries on August 30 re-elected Indian Father Mathew Vattamattam as its superior general during the congregation’s general chapter in Rome.
Father Vattamattam was born on May 30, 1959, in Kalathoor, Kerala, southern India.
He did his basic studies at St. Mary School, Kalathoor, and his secondary studies at St. John’s High School, Kanjirathanam.
He entered the congregation at the Claret Bhavan in Kuravilangad on July 3, 1974, and made his first profession on May 31, 1978. He took his final vows on May 31, 1984. He was ordained a priest on May 10, 1986.
From 1986-1987 he served as assistant vocation promoter and assistant formator of aspirants at the Claret Bhavan Kuravilangad.
From 1987 to 1988 he was appointed Vocation Promoter and formator in Belgaum minor seminary. From 1988 to 1989 he was assigned as assistant to the parish priest of St. Mary’s, Champakulam, Kerala.
From 1989 to 1994 he studied for a Licentiate in Systematic Theology and a Licentiate in Psychology at the Gregorian University in Rome.
In 1994 to 1996, he was appointed director of the Claret Nivas Retreat House in Bangalore and assistant to the Master of Novices. From 1996 to 2003 he served as Novice Master of the Bangalore Province.
At the XXIII General Chapter, held in Rome in 2003, he was elected General Consultor and Prefect of Formation and re-elected to the same office in 2009.
In the XXV General Chapter he was elected 13th Superior General, a position he has now been ratified for six more years.
Source: Radio Veritas Asia News