Capuchins intensify prayers as drowned priest’s body remains untraced

By Jose Kavi

New Delhi, Oct 27, 2022: The Capuchins in India have intensified their prayers as the body a friar who was drowned in the Godavari River remains untraced even after five days.

Father Tony Simon Pulladen and seminarian Brother Bijo Thomas Palampurackal were taking bath in the river around 6 pm on October 23 when undercurrents swept them away near Errayipet village near Chennur town. The body of Brother Palampurackal was recovered the following morning.

Father Antony Alphonse, another priest who was with them, escaped unhurt. He later explained that Brother Palampurackal had first entered the river to bathe but got stuck under the water. Father Pulladen went to his rescue but was drowned.

The three have been serving the Capuchins’ Adilabad mission in Telangana state.

In a message to his people, Father Mathew Paikada, the Adilabad mission superior, said the authorities have continued the water surface combing operation also on October 27.

“Four motorized boats are employed for search, after the attempts of the expert fishermen teams didn’t bear fruit. Today drawn cameras too are used in otherwise unreachable places,” the superior explained.

Father Paikada said Bishop Antony Prince Panengaden of Adilabad coordinated the search operation with the police and other government machinery. “A large number of priests working in Adilabad diocese are camping in Chennur, and Sironcha and directly participating in the search,” he added.

Meanwhile, the body of Brother Palampurackal was taken to the headquarters of the Capuchins’ St. Joseph’s Province in Kottayam, Kerala. The burial is scheduled at 2:30 pm on October 28 at the Capuchin Vidya bhavan Chapel,Thellakom, Kottayam, Father Paikada announced.

“Kindly keep the two friars, their families and the Capuchins in your prayers. We thank all who are with us directly, through messages of condolence and in prayer,” said the superior’s message.

Capuchin Father George Valiapadath, who is now working in the US, noted in a message that his people in Kerala have been going through much of pain since the accident.

Father Pulladen was working in Assisi School at Chennur in Telangana. Brother Palampurackal was undergoing formation in the Capuchin community after he returned after completing Masters in Business Administration from the United Kingdom.

“Often they used to go to the same part of the Godavari River by bike to bathe,” explained Father Valiapadath.

Father Pulladen was born March 10, 1991, under St. George Forane Church, Kaipuzha in Kottayam. He joined the Capuchins on May, 14, 2010, and was ordained a priest on November 18, 2019.

At the top of the memento card he had prepared for the ordination was a quote from the Book of Psalms: “The deep calls to deep” with its reference Psalm 42.7. The complete verse is: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your torrents,

The image printed above his picture depicted Jesus reaching down from the surface of the water into the deep to lift someone from the depths of the waters.

Brother Palampurackal was born on August 24, 1984, at Thellakom, and entered the congregation on June 5, 2016. He made his first vows on May 15, 2019.