Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Palai

Eparchy of Palai
Location
Country	India
Ecclesiastical province	Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery
Metropolitan	Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2009) 695,000 326,747 (47%)
Information
Established	25 July 1950
Cathedral	Cathedral of St Thomas in Palai
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception St Thomas
Current leadership
Bishop	Joseph Kallarangatt
Auxiliary Bishops	Jacob Muricken
Emeritus Bishops	Joseph Pallikaparampil Bishop Emeritus (1981-2004)
Website
Website of the Eparchy

The Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church eparchy with an area of 1166 km². comprising the Meenachil Taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring Taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki Districts of Central Kerala. The faithful of this eparchy, numbering 326742, belong to the ancient St. Thomas Christian Community.

Pope Pius XII, by the Bull “Quo Ecclesiarum”, issued on 25 July 1950, bifurcated the eparchy of Changanacherry and out of the territory covered by the then Foranes of Palai, Muttuchira, Kuravilangad, Anakkallu and Ramapuram erected the eparchy of Palai as a suffragan of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam. Most Rev. Dr. Leo P. Kierkels, the Apostolic Internuncio in India, published the Bull in the St. Thomas Cathedral Palai on 4 January 1951 and installed Mar Sebastian Vayalil as the first Bishop of the new eparchy. On the 22 of August 1956 when the Holy See by the Ap.Const. ‘Regnum Coelorum’ raised the eparchy of Changanacherry to the status of an Archeparchy and constituted the new ecclesiastical province of Changanacherry, the eparchy of Palai became one of its suffragans. Mar Joseph Kallarangatt is the current Bishop of the eparchy.Mar Jacob Muricken was appointed as auxiliary bishop in 2012.

External links

• Pala Eparchy
• Eparchy of Palai
• Profile of the Eparchy of Palai