Jesuits in
Kerala
An outline of early history
Jesuit presence in Kerala dates back to the times of
St. Francis Xavier, the first disciple of
St. Ignatius and one of the pioneers of the
Society of Jesus. Since then, umpteen Jesuits have served in Kerala. In 1577 a Jesuit house was founded at Vaipikota near
Cochin.
Later this house was developed into a full-fledged seminary at par with similar institutions in
Europe. Subjects like philosophy, theology and
Latin were taught here.
Till 1601 the
Society had only one
Province in
India, namely Goa. But in 1601,
Malabar vice-province was established to organize the works of Jesuits in
South India. Its headquarters was in Cochin. At that time Jesuits had houses in Cochin, Vaipikota,
Cranganore,
Calicut and
Quilon.
In 1601, Kerala
Church came under Jesuit Jurisdiction with the consecration of Fr.
Don Francis Roz,
S.J. He was the first Latin
Bishop of the
Thomas Christians. In 1606, there was a Jesuit house and a church at Tanur near Calicut. Accoding to a catalogue, there were four Fathers working in three residences of Calicut, Tanur and
Ponnani in the year
1612.
Another important venture of the early Jesuits of Kerala was the
College of Ambazhakad near
Angamaly, started in 1662. Eminent scholars like
Arnos Padiri,
Constanzo Beschi (
Tamil Scholar),
St. John de Britto, and
Stephen Joseph Bremer stayed in this college. It was destroyed during
Tippu Sultan's Malabar raid.
Thus the
16th and
17th centuries witnessed very vibrant and dynamic Jesuit presence in Kerala. But that chapter of history comes to a close with the suppression of Jesuits all over the world in 1773. They were expelled from the
Portuguese dominions even before 1760. With this, almost all the Jesuit institutions were closed down. Suppression put an end to the flourishing Jesuit missions and ventures.
But with the grace of God, the Society was restored in
1814. With the restoration, another phase of the Society of Jesus began all over the world.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of the restored Society in Kerala is the diocese of Calicut. The first three bishops of the diocese were Jesuits.
Independent Kerala province
The independent Kerala vice-province was formed in the year 1960. Fr.
Joseph Edamaram sj was the first
Provincial of the new born Kerala province.
The Province owes a lot to him for what it is today. Most of the Jesuit institutions and centres were started by him. His leadership was unparalleled and pioneering.
Fr. Joseph Kallepallil sj is the present Provincial. The province is progressing under his dynamic leadership. At present there are over
200 Jesuits in the Province.
Kerala Jesuits are involved in apostolic activities like education, youth apostolate, media apostolate, parish ministry, social work, the tribal initiatives, etc. TUDI (
Tribal Unity for
Developmental Initiatives) and tribal development ventures in Attapadi are two notable Jesuit initiatives. In Kerala, Jesuits run two colleges, five schools and two ITCs and a centre for differently abled children
. In the 1980s Jesuits gave bold leadership for the
Fisherman's Struggles. Counselling programmes, youth camps, retreats and spoken
English courses given the Kerala Jesuits are much appreciated.
Some great Jesuits who worked in Kerala
Fr.
Peter Earnst Hanxleden, (1681-1732) popularly known as Arnos Padiri was an eminent Jesuit who worked in Kerala. He was a poet, scholar and a linguist. He composed a Malayalam- Portuguese and a
Malayalam --Sanskrit dictionary. He also authored Malayalam-Portuguese and a
Sanskrit grammar book. His major poetical works are
Puthen Pana,
Umma Parvan, and Ummade Dhukham.
Fr. S. Kappen was an original thinker and author of socio religious treatises and books. His works are widely discussed in the intellectual circles of Kerala.
Fr. Peter Caironi (1904-1966) blazed the trail of social reforms among the Dalits of
Northern Malabar. He worked relentlessly at the grassroots level for the uplift of the poor and down-trodden.
Fr.
L M Zucol, residing near
Pariyaram,
Kannur received the torch of missionary spirit from Fr. Caironi and is doing wonderful work for the poor. The fact that he has built more than 8000 houses for the poor is a proof of his missionary zeal.
Originally Composed by Fr.
John Francis SJ
- published: 12 Sep 2012
- views: 1872