Vatican/Kottayam, Dec 7, 2024
Syro Malabar Catholic Church Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad (51) will be remembered in history as the first priest to be elevated as a Cardinal from Kerala.
The other five Cardinals in Kerala were bishops before being elevated to this exalted post in the Catholic Church.
In the global Catholic Church, there are 232 active Cardinals at present and from Saturday, the numbers will go up to 253 after Koovakad and 20 others will be elevated.
It’s this group of Cardinals who will be sitting together to elect the next Pope, whenever that time comes.
“My parents and my close relatives have come for the function and we are going for the function when the Pope will receive all the guests. This is God’s will which I never expected. This elevation is a selection done by God. I owe this to all who made it possible.
When I was sent here (in 2006), I was told by my respected seniors, that if it’s to learn the Bible, that can be done in Kerala itself, but since you are being sent to the Vatican it’s being done to learn things deeply,” the smiling Koovakad told media just before he was taking his immediate family who had come to see the elevation to have the customary meeting with the Pope.
“We are excited as we are flooded with calls. We wished to go but could not due to our children’s studies. Our parents and siblings have all reached the Vatican. God created the way for his elevation. Once a year he used to come and meet us all,” said Koovakad’s sister Ditty Jacob.
On Saturday at the home parish of Koovakad at the Changnacherry Mamood Lourde Matha Catholic Church in Kottayam there was a special mass and it was attended by a large number of parishioners to celebrate the elevation of their own ‘son’.
“Even though the elevation is taking place at 9 p.m., we have made arrangements to stream it live in our church, when the function starts in the Vatican,” said a Church office bearer.
“We are deeply excited as this is a gift from God to our parish,” remarked an elderly lady who had known Koovakad since childhood.
While another parishioner could not hide her happiness and remarked, “He lived among us and now become a Prince,” said another.
Born on August 11, 1973, in the state capital city, Koovakad became a priest and later pursued training for diplomatic service at the prestigious Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.
In 2006, he began his diplomatic career at the Apostolic Nunciature in Algeria. He has served in Apostolic Nunciatures in Algeria, South Korea, Iran, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.
Christians in Kerala make up around 18 per cent of the state’s 32 million population, of which Catholics are the dominant group, comprising 50 per cent of the Christians in the state. There are three Catholic rites in Kerala the Syro-Malabar, Latin, and the Syro Malankara Churches.(Agency)
