By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi, March, 24, 2026: Bishop Emeritus Jerome Dhas Varuvel of Kuzhithurai, a diocese in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, died on March 24. He was 74.

The death occurred at 1:30 am at the Care Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor on Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai, said a notification from Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.

Bishop Varuvel, a Salesian, was hospitalized a few months ago following complications arising from dementia and Parkinson’s disease. He was undergoing treatment at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, the state capital.

The funeral is scheduled for 3 pm on March 25 at the Most Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kuzhithurai in Kanyakumari district

Bishop Varuvel was the first bishop of the Diocese of Kuzhithurai, established in 2014. He shepherded the diocese from 2015 until his resignation on June 6, 2020, due to ill health.

Born on October 21, 1951, in Paduvoor in Kottar diocese that covered the entire Kanniyakumari district.

He attended Carmel Secondary School in Nagercoil and then did the pre-university course at the Scott Christian College, Nagercoil. He attended the minor seminary at St. Aloysius Seminary in Nagercoil.

He studied philosophy at Sacred Heart Seminary in Poonamallee and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Arulanandar College, Karumathur, Madurai in 1976.

He later joined the Salesians in 1976 and made his perpetual profession on May 24, 1981. He pursued higher studies in Rome, earning degrees in Economics and Theology, along with a Licentiate in Pedagogy from the Pontifical Salesian University.

He held a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and in Theology and obtained a Licentiate in Pedagogy from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest on June 2, 1985, by Pope John Paul II.

Following his ordination, he completed his studies in Rome during 1985-1986. He served as the vice rector of Salesian novitiate in Vellkinar from 1986 to 1990, and then for two years as the rector of the Pre-Novitiate in Tirupattur.

He was the rector of the pre-novitiate in Maiyam from 1992 to 1994 and dean of the Salesian student body in Trichy for the next two years.

He was the parish priest and rector of the Co-Cathedral of Madras-Mylapore for five year until 2001.

He also served as provincial councillor from 1999 to 2003, During his time, he was the director of Kalvi Solai in Tirupattur from 2001to 2002) and Ennore (2002–2003). He was the director of Mount Don Bosco in Thalavadi from 2003 to 2010.

In 2010, he was appointed the novice master in Yelagiri Hills in the diocese of Vellore, until his appointment as the bishop of Kuzhithurai, which was carved out of the diocese of Kottar.

The Catholic faith in the area goes back to Saint Thomas the Apostle and it took roots during the time of Saint Francis Xavier.