Stephen Alathara

Stephen Alathara
Stephen Alathara is the Deputy Secretary General of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), the largest Bishops’ Council in India. He was appointed by Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselious Catholicos of the Malankara Catholic Church, then the President of the KCBC. He assumed the office as the ninth Deputy Secretary General of the KCBC on 20 February 2007. He serves the Council as its Spokesperson, Financial Officer and the Director of its Secretariat, Pastoral Orientation Centre (POC) at Palarivattom,Kochi, Kerala, India. He is also the spokesperson and the Director of the Public Relation Department of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, the oldest Catholic diocese in Kerala. He serves the All Indian Catechetical Association as its Executive Committee Member. He is also a prolific author, columnist, activist, visiting professor in various ecclesiastical universities. He is well known for his lectures and workshops. Dr. Stephen Alathara is a Catholic Priest incardinated to the Archdiocese of Verapoly, Kerala, India.
Education and Early Life
Stephen Alathara was born on 1 May 1970 as the eldest son of Alathara Joseph and Joan at Moolamattom in Idukki district, Kerala, India. His father was an employee in Kerala State Electricity Board and his mother is a house wife. He was baptised in St. George Forane Church Moolamattom, belongs to the diocese of Palai on 10 May 1970. He had his education in Govt. L.P. School Kulamavu, SPWHS Alwaye and St. Paul’s College Kalamassery. During childhood he served the parish churches as an altar boy. Taking inspiration from the ministerial assistance in the altar and from the life of saints especially from the life of St. John Bosco of Turin he joined the Archdiocesan Minor Seminary at Kalamassery on 16 June 1985 with an ardent aspiration to become a Catholic Priest.
After completing his priestly studies at Carmelgiri Seminary and Mangalapuzha Seminary, both in Alwaye, he was ordained to priesthood on 26 January 1995 by Archbishop Cornelius Elanjikkal. He has obtained MTH in Catechetics, MDHA in Hospital Administration, and MBA in Human Resource Development. He also acquired PHD with from the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome for his dissertation ‘The Role of the Teachers in the Moral and Faith Formation of the Children’. When he was a student of Philosophy and theology he served the seminary as the prefect and the subeditor of Preekshithakeralam and Living Word, the magazines published from the seminary.
Priestly Ministry
He began his priestly ministry as the Vice Rector of the St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Kalamassery. There he taught various ecclesiatical subjects and looked after the formation of young seminarians. From there he was transfered to Holy Family Chruch Perumpilly, Vypeen. As a zelous assistant parish priest he rendered his service for morethan eight months. He became the Associate Director of the Department of Catechetics and the Director of the Bible Apostolate of Archdiocese of Vearapoly. When late Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil became the Archbishop of Verapoly His Grace appointed his as the Director of Catechetical Department. As a director he introduced a new structure for faith formation in the Archdiocese. The activities of the Holy Childhood and Christian Life Communities were renewed during his tenure. He introduced certificate book for the Sunday School students and began the selection of the best catechetical units in the Archdiocese and Sunday school teachers annual convention.
He became a master organizer of the great events of the Archdiocese. He organized three bible Kalotsavu and became the general secretary of the Youth Year of the Archdiocese in 1986 and Great Jubilee Celebration in 2000. He was the principle organizer of the Cochin Eucharistic Congress in 2000. Later he became the director of the Department of Family Apostolate. As the director of the department he introduced lot of new training programmes for the family unit leaders like Exodus. Then he became the parish priest of St. James Church Cheranaloor. The long cherished dream of the parish members were accomplished when he bought land and began the construction of St. Sebastian’s Church Edayakunnam. In 2004 he was appointed as the administrator of the Kristu Jayanti Hospital, Vypin and he constructed the new block of the hospital and was inaugurated on 6 September 2009.
2007 onwards he became the Deputy Secretary General of KCBC and he was able to give a new phase to the KCBC. When Church faced various problems as a spokesperson of the Church he was able to maintain a good relationship with media and the public. The new statutes of KCBC came to effect on 1 January 2009 when he was the Deputy Secretary General of the KCBC.
Published Works
He is the author the famous book “Introduction to Catechetics”, which is the textbook of Catechetics in many ecclesiastical universities. His second book “Vishwathinte Jwalaka Kashchakal” deals with fundamental Christian doctrines. Third book “Vathikan Ariyendathum Ariyathathum” which looks into Vatican City State from the perspective of a true Christian faithful. His fourth book “Benedict Pathinaramanum Vaticanum” deals with Pope Benedict XVI. The fifth book on “Mathabothana Sasthram” is a book on science of catechetics. Sixth book is on altar boys entitled “Althara Susrooshakar”. The seventh book is on Vatican which deals with the Vatican Curia. He is also a columnist in Sunday Shalom a Catholic Weekly. He writes articles on various and contemporary issues in magazines and news papers. As the spokesperson of the Church, very often he appears in television discussions.
Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council-KCBC
The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council is a permanent association of the Catholic bishops in Kerala. It is an association of three rites of the Church in Kerala - the Latin, the Syro Malabar and the Syro Malankara. The objectives of KCBC are to facilitate co-ordinate study and discussion of questions affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in all matters concerning the interests of the Church in Kerala.
The statutes of KCBC says the Council shall in no way limit, prejudice or interfere with the distinctive character of particular Rites in respect of their liturgy, ecclesiastical discipline and spiritual patrimony, such matters being subject to the competent authority of the particular Rite concerned.
The general purpose of KCBC is to facilitate for its members the coordinated study and common discussion of questions affecting the Church in Kerala and the facilitation of a common policy and concerted action. In this way, the KCBC is intended to give witness to Christ more effectively in the service of the people of India in general and those of Kerala in particular.

In particular, the KCBC intends to express, through statements and representations, the common standpoint of its members in the matters of common concern falling within the limits of their jurisdiction, and to promote, by concerted action and guidance, all matters of common interest. The office bearers of KCBC are the President, the Vice President and the Secretary. They are elected by the Council for a period of three years.
Archdiocese of Verapoly
The Archdiocese of Verapoly lies in the civil district of Ernakulam of Kerala State. Since 1904 it has its headquarters at Ernakulam in the Corporation of Cochin. Within the corporation, the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the Diocese of Cochin (both the Latin Rite) and the Archdiocese of Ernakulam (of the Syrian Rite) have their headquarters. The Corporation of Cochin, according to the statistics of 1988 has a population of 513,000 of which about 220,000 are Catholics and 88% of the Catholic population is of the Latin Rite more than half of the Latins belonging to the Archidocese of Verapoly and the rest to the Diocese of Cochin and Aleppey.
The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar. It has its origins in 1657, with the arrival of Carmelite Missionaries, most prominent among whom was Father Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani. They had been deputed under Father Hyacinth as Apostolic Commissar, by Pope Alexander VII to effect reconciliation of St. Thomas Christians of the Syro - Chaldaic Rite, who had seceded from their Archbishop forsaking his authority by taking an oath for the purpose at the foot of a cross - thereafter called the ‘Coonen Cross’ situated in Mattancherry, had illegally made their Archdeacon the Archbishop by going through a farcica ceremony .By the efforts of Sebastiani a large number of seceders were brought back to the true fold. Nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of their lawful Archbishop or under any prelate of the Jesuit Order known as the ‘Paulists’.
Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebastiani in person, decided to entrust, the Carmelites with the spiritual care of the Syro - Chaldiaic Rite. For this purpose the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexanded VII on the 3rd December, 1659. Sebastiani was consecrated Titular Bishop of Hierapolis on December 15, 1659 and sent back to Malabar with the title of Vicar Apostolic and Administrator of the Archbishopric of Cranganore. The new Vicariate eventually established its headquarters in the island of Verapoly.
The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar and especially of Cochin in 1663 by the Dutch and the consequent explusion of all Catholic Missionaries from the territories occupied by the Dutch and elsewhere, threatened the very existence of the Malabar Vicariate. Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian Prelate Parambil Chandy (Alexander de Campo) whom Sebastiani had consecrated as his successor before he left Malabar in 1663. Before long, Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration which was by then extended also to the Catholics of the Latin Rite who were under Portuguese Protection.
On the 13th of March 1709, by a Brief of Pope Clement XI, the Malabar Vicariate was suppressed and the Vicariate of Verapoly took its place with Bishop Agnelos Francisco as its first Vicar Apostolic. By the Brief “Multa Praeclara” of Pope Gregory XVI, dated April 24, 1838, the Sees of Cranganore and Cochin which at that time included also Quilon, were annexed to the Vicariate of Verapoly, which thus came to comprise the whole of Malabar. However in 1845, Quilon was separated from Verapoly as a suffragan Vicariate. When by the famous Apostolic Letter “Humanae Salutis Auctor” of Pope Leo XIII, dated September 1, 1886, the Hierarchy of India was established, the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to the status of an Archdiocese, with the Most Rev. Dr. Leonard Mellano of St. Louis, ocd, as its first Archbishop, who was the 17th in the line of Vicars Apostolic.
Along with this in 1886 the Diocese of Cochin was also resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the Diocese of Quilon. On March 19, 1887, the Catholics of the Syrian Rite were separated from those of the Latin Rite and placed under an Administrator, Dr. Marcelino Bernard of St. Theresa, ocd, who was consecrated Coadjutor to Archbishop Mellano. By the Brief “Quod Jam Pridem”, of Pope Leo XIII, dated May 20, 1887, the Syrians were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the two Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were erected with Dr. Adolpus E. Medlycott and Dr. Charles Lavigne as their Vicars Apostolic. Thus Verapoly Archdiocese came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics.

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