Lineage of Bishops

When the Calicut diocese was erected on June 12,1923, Rt Rev. Dr Paul Perini, S.J. was appointedas the first Bishop of the diocese.Bishop PaulPerini gave importance to the development of thediocese. He invited the Congregation of the Sistersof Charity from Mangalore for works of charity andfor service to the destitute.The Congregation startedSt Vincent’s Home in Calicut on October 21, 1923.Also at the initiative of the Bishop they established orphanages forgirls and women. In 1925, with the co-operation of Bishop Perini,Br. Aloysius Spinally S.J., established St Vincent’s Industrials. To makethe diocese economically self sufficient, Bishop Paul Perini purchasedChelotte Estate and converted it into a tea and coffee plantation. DrPerini died on June 28, 1932 at Bangalore.

On November 2, 1937 Rt Rev. Dr Leo Proserpio, S.J. was appointed Bishop of Calicut. His first task was to learn the language of the people, and for this purpose he went to St Joseph’s Monastery at Pavaratty, remained there for three months learningMalayalam at the age of 63. He was consecrated onMarch 13, 1938 and he replied to the felicitations in Malayalam. He appointed Fr Pancratius Zanolin S.J. as Vicar General. Fr M.F. Barboza succeeded Fr Zanolin to this office in 1940. Immediately after his consecration, Bishop Proserpioset to work for the expansion of the diocese. He often said that he would leave it to his successors to organize it. He gave great impetus to all kinds of activities. Mission stations were started afresh and existing ones were given resident priests and for this purpose he received priests from Travancore and Cochin regions.He himself visited them frequently baptizing catechu- mens and administering Confirmation personally. Syrian Catholics from Travancore began to come to Malabar mostly at this time. He helped them in their spiritual needs, visiting them on foot, as there were no roads, and during these visits he did not heed the hardship sand fatigue. The great educationist that he was, he involved in the opening of many Elementary Schools in the diocese. He also purchased the bungalow and land at Malaparamba and shifted the Bishop’s House to the present place in 1945. Bishop Proserpio died after a short illness at St Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore, in 1945.Fr Pancratius Zanolin S.J., was appointed Vicar Capitular of the diocese. With unabated zeal he continued his predecessor’s works. Died on Sept. 8th 1945.

Rt Rev. Dr Aldo Maria Patroni S.J, the third Bishop of Calicut was appointed on March 28, 1948 and consecrated on June 27, 1948. He had been the Superior Regular of the Mission before his nomination and so, knew the people and the place very well. Immediately after his consecration he began to organize the diocese. The period of 32years of his Episcopate is considered as the golden era of the diocese. Bishop Patroni has contributed a lot to Malabar in the areas of education, culture and social service.He was always in the forefront to assimilate the new perspectives in the Church and to put them into practice. He attended the II VaticanCouncil. Bishop Patroni took the initiative to translate 18 Liturgical books into Malayalam for the use of 11 Latin dioceses. It was HisLordship who arranged for the financial assistance to publish the complete Bible in Malayalam headed by B.L.M. His service to theSyrian immigrants in Malabar is never to be forgotten. Bishop Patroni appointed Fr C.K. Mattam as the Episcopal Vicar of the immigrants.In 1952 when Fr Joseph Edamaram S.J. was appointed the VicarGeneral of the diocese he was given the special charge of the Syrian immigrants. When the number of the immigrants reached about a lakh, Bishop Patroni requested to the Holy See for a separate diocese for the Syro-Malabar Christians in Malabar and he discussed the matter with Cardinal Tisserant when he visited Calicut. Thus Bishop Patroni prepared the way for the erection of a separate Ecclesiastical unit for the Catholics who had migrated into the territory of theCalicut diocese. This was finally done when the new diocese of Tellicherry was erected on December 31, 1953. In the same year Bishop Patroni handed over 30 parish Churches along with the Chapels, Lower Primary, Upper Primary and High Schools of those parishes, to the diocese of Tellicherry. After serving the diocese for32 long years, Bishop Patroni resigned from office in 1980. Then he moved to Nirmala Bhavan, Marikunnu. During those days his main work was translating liturgical books into Malayalam. On his 85th birthday on September 22,1988 Bishop Patroni left this world to receive his eternal reward.

The Jesuits, who had been in charge of the diocese from the time of its erection in 1923, handed over the administration of the diocese to the hands of the indigenous clergy in 1980. OnSeptember 7, 1980, Rt Rev. Dr Maxwell Noronha was consecrated by Bishop Patroni S.J as the first native Bishop and as the fourth Bishop of the diocese. He was keen on the participation of the laity in all the spheres of the ministry in the diocese. Commissions and Boards were set up to help in the apostolic mission. Biblical,Catechetical and Liturgical Commissions were started in the diocese.The organization of the the Family Apostolate, Social ServiceCentre and Basic Christian Communities are worth mentioning. The celebration of Bible Convention on the day of the anniversary of the Episcopal Consecration of the Bishop was the first of its kind inChurch in India. In 2002 Bishop Maxwell retired from office after 22years of dedicated service in the diocese. He now spends his retired life at Marikkunnu, Calicut.

Rt Rev. Dr Maxwell Noronha, Who retired from theDiocesan Bishop of Calicut , handed over the dioceseto Rt Rev. Dr Joseph Kalathiparambil in 2002. OnApril 4, 2002, Rt Rev. Dr Joseph Kalathipaambil wasnominated Bishop of Calicut and on May 05, 2002He was ordained by Archbishop Most Rev Dr DanielAcharuparambil. Bishop Joseph Kalathirparambiltook it as an urgent mission to renovate manychurches in the diocese and to built a few new churches. He alsorenoveted and build parochial houses and inistitutions. Building of ourMinor Semi- nary in Marikunnu and renovation of the Cahtedral weresome of the major projects he undertook. Bishop Kalathirparambilshard work paid off the financial liabilites of the Diocese. He wasan excellent Administrator. As a good Pastor he under took pastoralvisists of various parishes in the diocese and directly talked to thepeople. He summonned a Diocesan Synod but before concluding it,he was ap- pointed the secretary to the Pontifical Council for Migrantsand Itinerant Peoples, Rome by the Holy See. After nine fruitful years ofAdmiistration of the diocese he left for Rome on May 02, 2011.On March 5, he was also appointed as a Member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On 30th October 2016, Bishop Dr. Joseph Kalathiparambil was nominated as the new Archbishop Designate of Verapoly and his Installation ceremony was taken place on 18th of December 2016 at Vallarpadam Basilica.