A top Vatican official, currently visiting India, has exhorted the Eastern rite Syro-Malankara Catholics to emulate the example of Venerable Archbishop Mar Ivanios, who is known as “tireless apostle for unity.”
Newsroom (16/07/2025, Gaudium Press) A senior Vatican official has called on Syro-Malankara Catholics to follow the example of Venerable Archbishop Mar Ivanios, hailed as a “tireless apostle for unity,” during a commemorative Mass marking the 72nd anniversary of his death.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, praised Mar Ivanios for his “immense sacrifices” in fostering Christian unity. Speaking at the July 15 Mass held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram, Gallagher described Ivanios as a “far-seeing visionary who embodied the Gospel’s call to unity, holiness, and service.”
Gallagher, who arrived in India on July 14 for a week-long official visit, urged the faithful to emulate Ivanios’ pursuit of “holiness in everyday life” and selfless service. “True unity cannot be imposed by force but must be drawn from the heart of the Gospel, which calls us to be one as the Father and the Son are one,” he said.
The event, attended by thousands of Catholics, coincided with the centennial celebration of Mar Ivanios’ episcopal consecration. A candlelight procession on July 14 wound through the state capital, culminating at St. Mary’s Cathedral, the seat of Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Father Bovas Mathew, the church’s public relations officer, expressed gratitude for Gallagher’s presence. “We are immensely grateful to Archbishop Gallagher for gracing the occasion as our chief guest,” he told UCA News.
Born in 1882 and ordained a priest in 1908, Mar Ivanios founded two religious congregations: the Order of the Imitation of Christ for men and the Sisters of the Imitation of Christ for women. Ordained a bishop in 1925 amid internal conflicts within the Malankara Church, Ivanios was authorized by the 1926 Episcopal Synod to negotiate communion with the Catholic Church to restore peace.
Despite the Malankara Church’s eventual withdrawal from these talks, Ivanios and Suffragan Bishop Mar Theophilos persevered. On September 20, 1930, Ivanios professed allegiance to the Catholic Church before Carmelite Bishop Aloysius Maria Benziger of Quilon, delegated by Pope Pius XI, marking the establishment of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. In 1932, Ivanios undertook a historic pilgrimage to Rome to meet Pope Pius XI.
On March 14, 2024, Pope Francis declared Ivanios venerable, the second step in the four-stage process toward sainthood. Gallagher emphasized that Ivanios’ legacy remains “a living call” to continue his mission of unity, prayer, education, and service in today’s context.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News
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