WelCom September 2023
Hundreds gathered on 31 May in Melbourne to celebrate the ordination of Bishop John Panamthottathil cmi as the second shepherd of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of St Thomas the Apostle in Melbourne.
Bishops from India, Europe and the United States, as well as 20 members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, were among those who attended the ordination and installation ceremony.
Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, served as Bishop Panamthottathil’s principal consecrator. Bishop Bosco Puthur, the first Syro-Malabar Bishop in Australia, and Bishop Remigius Inchananiyil of Thamarasserry, India, were the co-consecrators.
‘The Eparchy of Melbourne is getting today a new pastor in the person of Msgr John Panamthottathil,’ Cardinal Alencherry said.
‘May the Lord grant Msgr John Panamthottathil all the graces needed to exercise this important office in the Church.’
Cardinal Alencherry thanked the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for advocating for the establishment of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy almost a decade ago, and for their ongoing assistance.
Bishop Panamthottathil joins those bishops as a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The Eparchy covers all of Australia, as well as New Zealand and the countries of Oceania.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, who invited Bishop Panamthottathil to serve in the Archdiocese of Brisbane from 2015 to 2020, preached the homily.
Bishop Panamthottathil said he will address tasks in his ministry with the help of God.
Source: CathNews Australia