Thomas Eusebius
Rt Rev.Msgr.Thomas Naickamparampil (6 June 1961 - ) is the current bishop designate of the exarch of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in the United States since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 14 July 2010.[1]
An apostolic exarchate in the Eastern Catholic Church is the equivalent of an apostolic vicariate in the Latin church - is created for the pastoral care of Catholics in an area outside the territory of the Eastern Catholic Church to which they belong.
Naickamparampil was born in Mylapra in the state of Kerala.
He was ordained priest for Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on 29 December 1986. After his ordaination he held the following positions: assistant pastor and pastor in several communities, then dean and professor of philosophy at St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary.
He served as Secretary-General of the Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara, Public Relations Officer, Coordinator for Interreligious Dialogue and Secretary of the council of priests. He was also the director of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, a school in Trivandrum, and economic Mar Baselios Engineering College.
He has obtained a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune and Doctorate in Philosophy from the Gregorian University, Rome. The Gregorian University published his doctoral thesis. His major work is THROUGH SELF-DISCOVERY TO SELF-TRANSCENDENCE. A Study of Cognitional Self-Appropriation in Bernard Lonergan (ISBN 8876527508 / 9788876527500)
Dr Naickamparambil Thomas received order of remban (rabban in syriac) on Saturday 11 September 2010 at Sacred Heart Malankara Catholic Church, Mylapra.
He speaks Malayalam, English, German, Italian and Hindi and knows Syriac, Greek and French.
He was appointed as the first exarch of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in the United States on 14 July 2010 and at the same time Titular Bishop of Lares. He is concurrently the priest apostolic visitator for Syro-Malankara Catholics in Canada and Europe.[2] As such he is the papal representative who is charged with familiarising himself with the situation of a given community and reporting on its status to the Vatican.
In North America, there are 16 Syro-Malankara parishes and 15 mission stations serving about 10,000 Catholics. There are 30 priests and 34 women religious who minister to them. Syro-Malankara Catholics first began to migrate to the United States in 1984, settling first in the New York area.[2]
He will be ordained bishop on 21 September 2010 at St. Mary's Malankara Syrian Catholic Cathedral, Trivandrum and his installation ceremony will on 3 October at Queen of Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church, New York.
References
- Official websites: