Varkey Vithayathil
Catholic cardinal (1927-2011)
Varkey Vithayathil CSsR (29 May 1927 – 1 April 2011) was an Indian cardinal who served as the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly from 1999 to 2011. He was also a religious priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
Early life and ordination
Born to Joseph Vithayathil and Thresiamma Manadan in North Parur, Travancore, he became a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), a religious congregation founded by Alphonsus Ligouri in 1732. He was ordained as a priest on 12 June 1954. He was granted a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome on The Origin and Progress of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy. He taught for 25 years at the Redemptorist seminary in Bangalore. In 1972 he took his master's degree in philosophy from Karnataka University. He also taught different subjects in several other seminaries in Bangalore.
Provincial Superior
From 1978 to 1984 he was the Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist Provinces of India and Sri Lanka.
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