By Matters India Reporter
Kottayam, May 30, 2023: A Latin diocese in the southern Indian state of Kerala has created history when it selected a nun as the vice chancellor, the first woman to hold such a post in India.
The diocese of Vijayapuram on May 29 appointed Sister Mary Ansa as its vice chancellor, a post that has traditionally been held by a priest.
As the vice chancellor, the member of the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary would be responsible for assisting the chancellor in overseeing the various works entrusted to the chancery and to assist the bishop and vicar general as needed.
The diocese, which was created in 1930, comprises Kottayam, Idukki and parts of Alapuzha, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta civil districts. With its headquarters in Kottayam, the diocese covers an area of 9,000 square kilometers.
Sister Ansa belongs to a congregation that functions under the diocese of Vijayapuram. She made her final vows in 2017. She has a licentiate in canon law from St Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore.
She is the daughter of Philip and Thressia of Kumbolathuparambil, parishioners of Church of Perpetual Help in Munnar. Her brother Alex is a priest of the diocese of Vijayapuram.
Late Bishop Peter Thuruthikonam started the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of May in 1993 to spread the devotion to the Immaculate Heart and to serve the poor in the diocese.