Ecclesiastical province Tellicherry Pope Francis Country India Patron saint Saint Joseph | Rite East Syrian Rite Area 4,902 km² Major archbishop George Alencherry | |
Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2010)
3,810,000
307,682 (8.1%) Sui iuris church Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Cathedral St Joseph's Cathedral in Palissery | ||
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thalassery (anglicised - Tellicherry) is an archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church, which is an Eastern Rite Catholic Church in communion with the See of Rome. The boundaries of the Thalassery ecclesiastical province were extended to include Mangalore, Chickamangalore, Mysore, Shimoga and Ootty as there were settlers in the neighbouring States. The diocese covers an area of 18,000 km² and a Catholic population of 273,826.
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The ecclesiastical province of Thalassery came into existence on December 31, 1953 through the Papal bull `Ad Christi Ecclesiam Regendam' issued by Pope Pius XII. Sebastian Valloppilly was appointed the Apostolic Administrator. He is Bishop Emeritus since March 1989. George Valiamattom was the first Archbishop. The ecclesiastical province was divided into the Diocese of Mananthavady and Diocese of Thalassery in 1973 and in 1986, the diocese of Thamarassery was erected.
From 2014 onwards, Mar George Njaralakatt is serving as the Archbishop.
In 1995, the Thalassery diocese was uplifted as an archdiocese. In 1999, the Diocese of Belthangady was created to serve the needs of the Syrian Catholics of Dakshin Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu in Karnataka.
Malabar Migration
The history of the Malabar Migration and that of the ecclesiastical province of Thalassery are closely connected. The Thalassery diocese took up the struggle of the settlers, who were mostly Syrian Catholics not accustomed to Roman Rite ceremonies. As the migration started, the few priests of the Calicut Diocese could not look after the spiritual life of the settlers. Petitions were sent to the Holy See by the Bishops of the settlers, who had migrated to the British Malabar since 1930, requesting for a diocese of their own. Ultimately, Cardinal Tisserant, the Prefect of the Oriental Congregation came to Malabar and personally saw the pitiable situation of the settlers.