The Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 organization founded in 1968 in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. It is the missionary of the Syro Malabar Church, for missionary work in less Christian areas in and outside India. It was founded by bishop Sebastian Vayalil

Sebastian Vayalil

Bishop Sebastian Vayalil was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Pala, in Kerala, India. He was born on 28th January 1906 at Palai. He took his B. A. Degree from the Maharaja’s College, Trivandrum in 1928. He had his ecclesiastical studies at the St. Joseph’s Ap. Seminary Mangalapuzha, Alwaye and...

.

For organisational purpose the Society functions as regions. There are three officially declared regions. They are Ujjain

Ujjain

Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...

 in M.P.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

, Mandya

Mandya

Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of Mandya district and is located 40 km from Mysore and 100 km from Bangalore.-Etymology:...

 in Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, and Sangli

Sangli

Sangli is a city in the state of Maharashtra of India. Sangli is known as the Turmeric city for its vast production of Turmeric. Sangli is situated on the banks of river Krishna and is the largest market place for Turmeric in Asia and houses many sugar factories, which it is also noted for...

 in Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. There are 300 priests working as full-time members of the Society. All of them belong to the Syro Malabar Church.

Apart from that, a few priests are working in various other continents as pastors. MST in USA is an extension of the MST in Kerala.

History

The Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle (MST) was formally inaugurated on 22 February 1968. Today it has a membership of above 300 priests and three large mission regions under her protection.

Founder

Who is the real founder of MST has always been a point of debate. One of the founding members was the Bishop of Pala Sebastian Vayalil

Sebastian Vayalil

Bishop Sebastian Vayalil was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Pala, in Kerala, India. He was born on 28th January 1906 at Palai. He took his B. A. Degree from the Maharaja’s College, Trivandrum in 1928. He had his ecclesiastical studies at the St. Joseph’s Ap. Seminary Mangalapuzha, Alwaye and...

. He was well aware of the great missionary mandate that the Syro Malabar Church had inherited. At a time when it was hard for the western missionaries to come to India and when there was a surge in the missionary interest among the St Thomas Christians, Mar Vayalil thought of an association of missionaries of the Church of St Thomas Christians

Saint Thomas Christians

The Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St...

.

Joseph Maliparampil writes, “St Thomas Missionary Society is the fruition of a long cherished vision of the ‘missionary Bishop’, Mar Sebastian Vayalil that the SyroMalabar Church should have an association of missionaries”. It was Bishop Vayalil who visualized it as an institute of the Church and gave concrete form to it with the help of his priests. In the words of Cardinal Lourdusamy, it was in 1962 “that the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle began to take shape in the vision of late Mar Sebastian Vayalil, then Bishop of Palai”. The initiatives taken by him and the cooperation and support extended by other prelates of the Church really paved the way for the foundation of the Society. In the report of the Director General presented at the General Assembly of 19Th we read, “... it is the Bishop of Palai who took initiatives on his own accord and on behalf of the Hierarchy to give shape to this missionary project,’ encouraged as he was by the Holy Father

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 himself and the Cardinal Prefects of the Sacred Congregations of the Oriental Churches

Congregation for the Oriental Churches

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical,...

 and Propaganda Fide”.

Bishop Vayalil began to think about the possibility of the formation of a missionary institute of the Syro-Malabar Church while preparing for the Ad Limina

Quinquennial Visit Ad Limina

In the Roman Catholic Church, a quinquennial visit ad limina or more properly, quinquennial visit ad limina apostolorum or simply an ad limina visit means the obligation of residential diocesan bishops and certain prelates with territorial jurisdiction , of visiting the thresholds of the [tombs of...

 visit of 1960. During the visit, he met Pope John XXIII and apprised him of the plan to begin an association to canalize the vocations of the Syro-Malabar Church. He then consulted the matter with the Cardinals of the Oriental Congregation and Propaganda Fide. Back home, he put forward his plan in the Syro Malabar Bishop’s Conference. The Conference extended its support and encouraged him to go forward with the idea. The Bishop was in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 again in 1961 and 1962 and received expert advice from the Congregations about the nature of the Society. The next stage was the consultation with the priests of the diocese. He held different meetings with the 1ikeminded priests of the diocese and discussed with them the future of the Society that he had in mind. A pious union was formed with likeminded priests on 22 January 1965. The Bishop canonically erected the MST on 22 February at Melampara.

Founding

The founding of the Society was natural and logical conclusion of the efforts that spanned at least one decade. The efforts of Bishop Vayalil that began in 1959 found fruits on 22 February 1968 when the MST was formally inaugurated at Ampara.

Initial idea

In 1950s there was a sudden boost in the number of young men of the Syro Malabar Church going to do mission work in India and abroad. Different factors had contributed to this sudden burst in missionary vocations in the Church. The hierarchy of the Syro-Malabar Church had by then been established and was well in control. Many favourable conditions such as the establishment of the Mission League, starting Mission Home, and beginning of the Magazine Prekshithakeralam from Mangalapuaha Seminary also played a vital role in this missionary awakening. It was in this background that Sebastian Vayalil

Sebastian Vayalil

Bishop Sebastian Vayalil was the first bishop of the Eparchy of Pala, in Kerala, India. He was born on 28th January 1906 at Palai. He took his B. A. Degree from the Maharaja’s College, Trivandrum in 1928. He had his ecclesiastical studies at the St. Joseph’s Ap. Seminary Mangalapuzha, Alwaye and...

 while preparing for the Ad Limina visit of 1960 came across the idea of beginning an association of priests of the Syro-Malabar Church to canalize the missionary vocations. Kurian Vanchipurackal and John Perumattam were entrusted with the task of preparing the report of the diocese to be presented to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. The report clearly was an eye opener to the Bishop to see that many young men of the Diocese had to change their rite to become missionaries. It was the immediate reason why the Bishop began to think about forming a missionary association and he included this project also in the Ad Limina report.

Development

It was in Rome that the idea of a missionary association got more clarity. While presenting his report to Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 the Bishop informed him of the plan to begin an association for mission work. Welcoming the idea, the Pope asked the Bishop to consult with the experts in Oriental Congregation and Propagande Fide. The Congregations now suggested the Bishop to begin a missionary society instead of a religious congregation, as there had been several already in India. Thus the idea about the missionary association got more clear with the discussions held at Rome

Support of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy

Coming back from the Ad limina visit Mar Vayalil in an official meeting of the Syro-Malabar Bishop’s Conference, he proposed the plan for a Missionary Society for the Church. He suggested: “It should be a common society of the whole Malabar church to be erected by the hierarchy and placed under it”. The Bishops approved the step and promised their support. They asked Vayalil to take up responsibility as there were more vocations in the diocese of Palai.

Priests of the diocese get involved

The Bishop now began official consultation with his priests who were interested in the idea. He convened a meeting of the interested priests at 3.00 pm on 25 March 1963 at the Bishop’s House. Philip Valiyil (V.G), Mathew Kottarathumially (Chancellor), Joseph Maliparampil, Abraham Kaipanplackal, Kurian Vanchipurackal, Sebastian Pottanany, Abraham Ettackakunnel, Francis Kandathil, and John Perumattam attended the meeting. However the meeting was not able to reach a conclusion about the exact nature of the proposed institute. A committee was constituted to draft the statutes of the future Society. Kurian Vanchipurackal and John Perumattam were the members of that committee.

A second meeting of the priests was convened on 3 March 1964. Its main purpose was to discuss the draft constitution. Philip Valiyil, Mathew Kottarathumially, Thomas Purayidom, Joseph Maliparampil, Abraham Ettackakunnel, Francis Kandathil, Sebastian Pottanany, Kuriakose Mampuzha, Alexander Cherukarakunnel, Joseph Nadayath, Jacob Maliekal, T.C. Joseph, Jacob Plathottam and John Perumattam were the participants this time. Bishop Mar Vayalil later got the permission of the Bishop’s Conference to submit the draft to the Holy See. The draft was sent to Rome on 14 March 1964.

Pious Union comes into being

A third meeting of the priests was convened on 22 January 1965. The Bishop informed the members of the permission he had to start and organize the missionary institute as a Pious Union of the diocesan clergy for mission work. Nine out of the twenty-five priests present inscribed their names as the members of the Pious Union. They were

• Joseph Maliparampil

• Abraham Kaipanpiackal

• Abraham Ettackakunnel

• Augustine Puthenpura

• Francis Kandathil

• George Kuahikandam

• Joseph Puthenpura

• Paul Naickarakudy

• John Perumattam

Sebastian Vayalil was unanimously chosen as the president of the Pious Union and John Perumattam as the secretary and treasurer.

Another meeting was held at the Bishop’s House on 8–9 March 1965. The participants were the members of the Pious Union and the priests of the bishop’s House. The meeting decided to send a circular to the priests of the diocese informing them of the nature and purpose of the Pious Union. Meanwhile the Bishop admitted nine students destined for the future Missionary Society to the Good Shepherd Minor Seminary, Palai. They were

• Joseph Puthuppally

• Thomas Varakil

• Thomas Parayady

• Sebastian Varikatt

• Joseph Ancheril

• Mathew Karipath

Joseph Maramattam

• Kurian Ammanathukunnel

• Mathew Valanatt

Meanwhile some more priests had joined the Pious Union. They were

• Thomas Ayathamattam

• Kurain Valiamangalam

• Joseph Puthiath

• Zahcharias Thudipara

• Thomas Chellantahra

• Joseph Palackatukunnel

The Statutes for the Missionary Society was approved by the Holy See on 13 June 1967. Bishop Vayalil was authorized to erect the Society and promulgate the Statutes. An extraordinary
meeting of those who were interested in the mission work was held on 26 October 1967.

Invitation was sent to all priests of the Palai diocese and 80 of them attended. In the meeting the Bishop explained all the steps he had so far taken towards the forming a missionary Society on behalf of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church.

All present whole-heartedly supported the idea and promised their full cooperation. Dr C.T. Kottaram on behalf of all the priests present offered one day’s Holy Mass for this purpose. After the meeting a few more priests joined the Pious Union. They were George Kuthivalachel, Jacob Plathottam, John Kadookunnel, Joseph Ayathamattam, Joseph Karikilamthadam, John Plackeel, Abraham Kaniampady, Joseph Kochayyankanal, Sebastian Pottanany, and Abraham Parappuram.

MST comes into being

The Missionary Society of St Thomas the apostle was formally erected and its Constitution was promulgated on 22 February 1968 by Bishop Sebastian Vayalil in a function presided over by Cardinal Maxmilian de Furstenburg. The foundation stone for the Central House of the Society was also laid on that day.

The Society begins functioning

By the special faculty obtained from the Holy See, Sebastian Vayalil, on 16 July 1968, appointed John Perumattam the first Director General of the Society. Joseph Maliparampil, Joseph Mattam, Abraham Ettackakunnel, and John Kadookunnel were appointed Councilors. Thus the Society began functioning, the above five members making their promise in the presence of Vayalil. Eleven more members were incorporated immediately and from among them John Plackeel and Sebastian Pottanany were elected Secretary General and Treasurer General respectively. The first members of the Society were the following: John Perumattam, Joseph Maliparampil, Joseph Mattam, Abraham Ettackakunnel, John Kadookkunnel, John Plackeel, Sebastian Pottanany, Augustine Puthenpura, George Kuthivalachel, Kurian Valiamangalam, Zacharias Thudipara, Joseph Ayathamttam, Jacob Plathottam, Abraham Parappuram, George Kuzhikandam, and Abraham Porunnoly. Francis Kandathil and Paul Naickarakudy, as they were already sent to Ujjain, could not make their promise of incorporation on that day. Perumattam tendered resignation as he became the Exarch of Ujjain, Joseph Maliparampil was nominated and appointed as the Director General by the Bishop of Palai.

Beginning of the House at Ampara

A few acres of land was ready procured at Melampara at the initiative of Ettackakunnel, Plathottam Mathunni Mathunni (2 acres) and Koottarappillil Chacko (one acre) and other generous people donated a major portion of it. Eight acres of land was purchased using the fund provided by the Holy See. The House of the Society which was to become the head quarters of MST, started to function at Ampara on 20 January 1969. That was the reason why Deepti College used to celebrate its Home Day on this day for a long time. Augustine Puthenpura, who was the Vicar of Adivaram was nominated as the first Superior of the House. Sebastian Pottanany and John Plackeel were the other inmates of the House.

Deepti Bhavan, which was constructed under the supervision of Sebastian Pottannany according to the plan drawn by Larry Baker, was solemnly inaugurated on 30 December 1972 by Cardinal Joseph Parekkattil. “In the evening of the 30th our headquarters, Deepti Bhavan and Deepti College were formally and solemnly inaugurated by His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Parekkattil in a public gathering presided over by His Grace Arch bishop Mar Antony Padiyara and graced by H.E. Bishop Sebastian Vayalil, H.E. Bishop Sebastian Mankuzhikary, Rt Rev. Msgr Mathew Vellankal, Very Rev. Fathers Dominic and Rossignol, Rectors of Alwaye and Bangalore seminaries, Very Rev. Fr Loze and a vast audience of other distinguished guests".

Starting of Deepti College

Once the Society began to function, the next thought was of starting the Minor Seminary. The most important question was where to begin it. “All possible houses for rent in and around Bharanganam were considered. Suggestion came to start
the Minor Seminary at the Sea View Estate and it was almost considered possible. Information came from Rev. Fr Mathew Kattady that he was ready to conduct the Minor Seminary in Trivandrum and find means to run it till buildings becocme ready at Ampara. But on March 11, when all gathered at Bishop’s House (First General Assembly), contrary to all calculations, it was decided to start the Minor Seminary that year itself at Ampara and to erect building ad hoc borrowing the necessary fund from any source”. Thus Deepti College, the Minor Seminary of MST, officially came into being on 31 August 1969 with Sebastian Thuruthel as Rector and Joseph Thaiparampil as Spiritual Father. On 1 September 1969 classes began with 35 students.

Right from the beginning of the attempts to form a missionary institute of the Syro-Malabar Church there is one idea running through: the Sons of the Christians of St Thomas must be able to do evangelization outside Kerala in their own rite. That is why Bishop Vayalil always had this preoccupation of forming an institute as a common society of the whole Syro-Malabar Church. Duraisamy Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy

Duraisamy Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy

Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy is an Indian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985...

 once termed MST “as an institution recognized as an expression of the apostolic vocation of the Syro-Malabar Church and permitting the fulfilment of the missionary aspirations of individual members of this Church”. There are mainly two reasons why MST can be qualified as the missionary wing of the Syro-Malabar Church.

The General Assembly 2008

The 8th Ordinary General assembly of the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle began on 14 May 2008 at its Central House, Melampara, Bharananganam. The supreme representative body of the Society was formally concluded on 24 May at 3.30. p. m. The new members of the General Council elected by the General Assembly to guide the Society for the next five years are the following:

James Athikalam - Director General

• Paul Mudathotty - Vice Director General(First Councillor)
• Thomas Chirackal - Second Councillor
• Antony Perumanoor - Third Councillor
• Mathew Elavumkal - Fourth Councillor
• Kurian Kochettonnil - Treasurer General

Portfolios assigned

• Paul Mudathotty - Formation and Ongoing Formation
• Thomas Chirackal - Education and Social Apostolate
• Antony Perumanoor - Secretary General
• Mathew Elavumkal - Priests’ Welfare and Communion
• Kurian Kochettonnil - Communication and Mission Animation

External links

• Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle official website
• Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle in USA