By Vipin Vayalil

Mananthavady, Oct 27, 2022: The province chapter of Mananthavady Norbertines has elected Father Jose Murickan as its ninth provincial.

The election on October 19 was presided over by Abbot General Jos Wouters. Abbot Marcus Champia from the Norbertine Abbey of Jamtara was the second official of the election.

Father Murickan, former director of the National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training (NISCORT), the premier media college of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, will hold the post for the next six years.

The provincial council comprises Fathers Santhosh Theckayil, Jijo Ellathumkudiyil, Binu Pazhayaveettil, Cletus Therakathinkal, Subash Challamkattil and Babu Poochalikalatthil.

The Order of Canons Regular of Premontre, also known as Norbertines, is a religious order of Canons Regular founded in 1120 by St Norbert of Xanten at Premontre near Laon, a city in northern France.

The Norbertines, the fifth oldest surviving religious congregation in the Catholic Church, was founded to bring about renewal in the clergy by bridging the gap between monastic life and clerical life. The Norbertine life is characterized by the ideal of communion. The order now has more than 1,000 male and 200 female members worldwide.

Since Norbertine abbeys (and most priories) are autonomous, practices and apostolates are different, depending on the needs of the local Church. Some houses are contemplative while others are active in pastoral ministry. However, each is guided by the Rule of Saint Augustine and the Constitutions established by the General Chapter of the Order.

In 1979, under the initiative of Abbot Wolf Gang Bohm, the Norbertines of the Stift Tepl in Villingen came to Mananthavady with the help of Bishop Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy, then bishop of Mananthavady. The community in Mananthavady, established in the Syro Malabar Rite, is the first indigenous version of the international congregation.

The Mananthavady unit was officially recognized as an independent province on November 20, 2007. It has now 105 professed members and 40 seminarians in different stages of formation.

The Mananthavady Norbertines are engaged in pastoral, social, educational, media and health care ministries. They serve different Syro Malabar dioceses in Kerala and Karnataka. They also serve the universal Church being in Germany, Austria, United States of America and South Africa.

Father Muricken has a doctorate in Social Communications from Gregorian University, Rome, with specialization in Visual Media and Pastoral Communications. He has 14 years of teaching experience and is a visiting faculty in many major seminaries and colleges in India.

Father Muricken has also published many articles on communications and media in different national magazines. Asked about his priorities, he said he wants to stress vocation promotion and formation of young priests to suit the needs of the changing times, so that they can be good missionaries.

He plans to work for empowering the local Church and for the renewal of clergy, as envisaged by Saint Norbert.