Joyce Kaithakottil

Early life and education

He is born at Amballur, a village in the district of Ernakulam, Kerala, India on 28 February 1963. His baptismal name is Isaac and the names of his parents are Joseph and Mary who were school teachers.

Education

As a boy he served at the liturgical services in the church and at the age of 15 in the year 1978, he joined the seminary to become a catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam. He completed his pre-university studies during the first three years in the seminary. After the minor seminary training, he was selected by the superiors and he was sent to Papal Seminary Pune, a national seminary run by the Jesuits. He graduated in philosophical and theological studies in the year 1981–1988 from Jnana-DeepaVidyapeeth, Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Pune. During his philosophical studies he also obtained a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Kerala. During his theological studies, one of the semesters in the year 1986 he stayed in a slum at Vadagonsery, Pune along with three other friends and had a direct experience of the difficulties and miseries of the people on the street.

Career

He was ordained a priest on 25 July 1988 for the Archdiocese of Ernakulam. He started his priestly ministry as an assistant parish priest at St. Thomas Church, Malayattoor, now an international pilgrim center where St. Thomas the Apostle is supposed to have come according to the living tradition. In the year 1989 he was transferred to St. Mary Church at Koratty, a marian pilgrim center of the Archdiocese, where he served as an assistant parish priest till 1991. He was appointed parish priest at St. Mary's Elavoor and was also in charge of a parish at Kunnappillissery. After a year of service there he was appointed Archdiocesan director of Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM). He stayed at St. Martin Shrine, Angamaly and coordinated the youth activities of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam. During his tenure as the Director of KCYM, he also got involved in the protest movements, especially in the Anti-Alcoholic movement of the area. He was arrested by the police for leading certain protest marches against the unholy alliance of liquor lobbies, politicians and the police. He considers the years with the youngsters as the wonderful years of his priestly ministry. He has learned the "spirituality of struggle" and has understood the dimensions of the prophetic mission of Jesus. He also held the post of the Director of the Dalit Catholic MahajanaSabha of the Archdiocese from 1992–1995. In 1994 he was appointed the Executive Director of the Save A Family Plan India (SAFP India), a charitable organisation which supports poor families and promotes human resource development and women empowerment programs. He then served as the parish priest of St. Joseph Church Kodussery and was in charge of St. Augustine Church Karippassery. In the year 1997 he was sent to Rome for higher studies in Scripture. He has taken a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Biblical Institute in Rome in 2001 and had his doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome in 2005. His doctoral thesis is titled as "Conversion of the Church and the Conversion of the World: A biblical theological Study ofmetanoe,w(metanoew) in the Book of Revelation”. Back home in 2005 he was appointed Coordinator of Associations and Organizations of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly and the chaplain of St. Martin Shrine, Angamaly. He also served as the secretary of the Presbyteral Council (Priests’ Senate) of the Archdiocese from 2007–2012. He was also a member of the college of Archdiocesan consultors from 2007–2012. In 2007 he is appointed as the director of the department of Youth Apostolate, a newly constituted department for the youth ministry in the Archdiocese. He was visiting professor to different major seminaries, like St. Thomas Apostolic seminary, Vadavathoor, Kottayam (2005–2008), Sanathana Seminary at Thamarassery (2007–2011), St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary Alwaye (2006–2010) in the state of Kerala. In the year 2010 he joined as the resident staff member of St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary Alwaye. Now he resides at Alwaye as a professor of Biblical Theology and since 2011. He also serves as a visiting professor at Jnana-DeepaVidyapeeth, Pune. He also gives courses on biblical theology to different theological institutes run by the women religious. His wish in life is to work for the building up of the Kingdom of God here on earth, that is, to build up a community of love, fellowship and Justice where every human person can live with dignity. He is a motivational speaker and gives classes for youth, parents and children keeping in mind the vision of Jesus for the new humanity.