By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, Aug 26, 2023: Pope Francis on August 26 appointed Father Mathew Nellikunnel as the bishop of Gorakhpur diocese in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The formal announcement of the appointment was done at 12 noon Italian time at the Vatican and at 3:30 pm Indian time at the St Thomas Mount, the Church’s headquarters in Kakkanad, a suburb of Kochi, Kerala.
Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Church, announced the appointment in the presence of the members of the Synod.
Earlier, the 31st Synod of the Syro Malabar Church had elected Father Nellikunnel, a member of Congregation of St Theresa, to replace Bishop Thomas Thuruthimattam of Gorakhpur, who has retired. The self-governing Church can appoint its bishop with the approval of the Pope.
The new bishop was vested with the insignia of the episcopal office by the cardinal and Bishop Thuruthimattam.
He is elder brother of Bishop John Nellikunnel of Idukki, Kerala.
The bishop-elect is currently serving as the rector of congregation’s major seminary in Aluva, Kerala.
The bishop-elect was born on November 13, 1970, as the first child of Varkey and Mary Nellikunnel, parishioners of St Mary’s Church, Mariapuram in Kerala’s Idukki district.
After school studies, he joined the congregation’s minor seminary of Khrist Jyoti Province, Punjab-Rajasthan. He made his first profession in 1990 and the final eight years later. He was ordained a priest on December 30, 1998, by Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam.
After ordination, he served the congregation in various capacities such as assistant novice master, rector of the minor seminary, parish priest, and school manager.
In 2005 he left for higher studies in Rome where he secured doctorate in philosophy. He was then appointed teacher at Little Flower Major Seminary, Aluva. Later, he undertook pastoral ministry for three years in the diocese of Regensburg in Germany.
In 2015, he was elected the provincial of Khrist Jyoti province, Punjab-Rajasthan. After the completing the term in 2018, he was appointed rector of the Little Flower Major Seminary.
The bishop-elect is proficient in many languages such as English, Hindi, German and Italian, besides his mother tongue Malayalam.
The diocese of Gorakhpur on the Nepal border was created in 1984 with Dominic Kokkatt, a member of the same congregation as its first bishop. Bishop Thuruthimattam replaced him in 2006.