The formal elevation of the Diocese of Calicut to the status of Metropolitan Archdiocese and the installation of Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal as the first Metropolitan Archbishop will be held at St. Joseph’s Church here at 3 p.m. on May 25.
Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal Leopoldo Girelli will officiate the Eucharistic celebration.
Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council president Baselios Cardinal Cleemis will deliver the homily on the occasion, a press release said.
Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Conference of Catholic Bishops of India president Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church Mar Raphael Thattil, Archbishop of Hyderabad Anthony Cardinal Poola, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Major Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal George Alencherry, Metropolitan Archbishop of Verapoly Joseph Kalathiparambil, Metropolitan Archbishop of Trichur and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India president Mar Andrews Thazhath, and Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Thomas J. Netto will offer felicitations.
The Calicut Diocese was elevated to Archdiocese, and Bishop Chakkalakal was named Archbishop following the papal decree announced on April 12.
Kozhikode will become the third Latin Catholic archdiocese in Kerala, joining Varapuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. The Archdiocese of Calicut will have Kannur and Sultanpet as its suffragan dioceses.
Published – May 22, 2025 09:55 pm IST