- 17 May, 2025
ALUVA, Kerala, May 16, 2025: While the global Catholic community celebrated with great happiness the election of Pope Leo XIV, the joy was even more intense among the members of the Augustinian order in India. This was clearly visible in a 15-foot-long banner featuring an image of the U.S.-born pope, displayed on the three-storey building beside the Augustinian Provincial House-cum-Major Seminary at Mariapuram near Aluva, 10 miles north of Kochi, in the southern Christian heartland of Kerala. Pope Leo XIV was a former prior general of the Order of St. Augustine.
“Words cannot fully describe our happiness over our former prior general becoming the Pope,” Augustinian Father Wilson Injarapu, provincial of the Order of St Augustine in India, told the National Catholic Register on May 10 in an interview at the provincial house. “Everyone who has met him has been sharing warm memories about his modest and friendly nature,” Father Injarapu said about the Holy Father, who, as Father Robert Prevost, spent a week during his initial visit to Kerala in April 2004 for the ordination of six Augustinian deacons and, in 2006, hosted a conference of Augustinian provincials from the Asia Pacific region.
“I was just a novice here when Father Prevost visited us a second time [in 2006] and had heard a lot about his compassionate nature, dedication to the community, and promotion of its mission." Father Injarapu said. "I had all these confirmed when I went to the Vatican to meet him in February this year,” he added. Father Injarapu had sought help from his superiors in arranging a meeting with Cardinal Prevost, then the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, during a trip to the Vatican in late February.
“On the day after arriving at the generalate, we were pleasantly surprised when Cardinal Prevost came in to greet us at the dining table,” Father Injarapu, ordained in 2016, recalled. “The cardinal disregarded our objections, brought the food trolley to the table, and insisted on serving us before joining us. He had vivid memories of our Kerala house and the river in front of it. He was very eager to hear how our community was progressing and showed genuine interest in the developments in the country,” he added.
"Cardinal Prevost was extremely pleased when I told him we now have 48 Augustinian priests in India besides 40 in formation," Father Injarapu said. "The number of centres run by our congregation has also increased from two in 2004 to seven now.”
The next morning, when he arrived early at the chapel for Mass, Father Injarapu said, “I was amazed to find the cardinal kneeling in prayer wearing only a stole, ahead of others. All these moments convince me that the Catholic Church has a true shepherd to guide its people in Pope Leo XIV.
”Later, as Father Injarapu celebrated the evening Mass for his community, he reminded those present, “While this is a proud moment for us, it also brings a special responsibility to pray for the Pope," he said. "Additionally, it challenges us to be better exemplars of Augustinian spirituality to the world.”
Augustinian Father Alosious Kochikarenveettil oversees a school run by the congregation in Kollam, which educates more than 1,200 students. He told the National Catholic Register, “I feel blessed that Father Prevost came to Kerala initially for our ordination in April 2004. He was genuinely joyful about attending the simultaneous ordination of six deacons for the congregation, which had only seven priests at that time. That visit itself reflected his pastoral concern for the growth of the community.”
“I am certain the personality of Pope XIV will appeal to everyone,” added Augustinian Father Jacob Mullassery. As rector of the St. Thomas Aquinas minor seminary near Kochi and superior of an Augustinian community at the time, Father Mullassery spent considerable time with Father Prevost, escorting him to various centres during the 2004 weeklong visit.
“Father Prevost’s humble simplicity and gentleness were truly remarkable. He would listen patiently and had the ability to be with us as a friend, despite being the prior general,” Father Mullassery said.
Though it has been two decades since Father Prevost visited Mariapuram and celebrated Mass at the parish of Mary, Queen Help of Christians, which the congregation administers, the parishioners’ faces lit up with joy recalling their encounter with Pope Leo XIV. “We cannot believe that a priest who celebrated Mass on our altar has now become the Pope. Our parish has become historic and sacred,” said Thomas Thuruthipurath, trustee of the 230-family parish, after early morning Mass on May 11.
Gilbert Kalathil, another parishioner, was visibly excited. “Though our parish is small, Mariapuram church is now known across Kerala. Our archbishop [Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly] issued a pastoral letter noting that Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in our church.
“After Pope Leo XIV’s election, national English newspapers published front-page stories about Cardinal Prevost’s visit to this once-unknown parish. “We cannot thank God enough for this blessing. I could hardly believe the news,” said 78-year-old grandmother Mary Antony Vadakkal with tears in her eyes.
“I cannot forget the caring nature of Father Prevost, who is now the Pope. He had visited our Spinelli Public School and convent in 2004 and 2006,” Augustinian Sister Sally of the Diocese of Verapoly told the National Catholic Register. The Order of St. Augustine, launched in India in 1988, now has 55 nuns in the country. Pope Leo, Sister Sally said, “had a strong missionary spirit and always stressed the importance of serving the poor. He would always ask me about our congregation whenever we met in meetings. Pope Leo XIV will be a blessing to the world.”
“The Pope’s ability to connect with people and understand their cultures is exceptional,” said Augustinian Father Shiju Kallarackal, one of the six deacons ordained in Father Prevost’s presence in 2004 and currently studying canon law in Spain. “I was fortunate to witness Father Prevost’s unique missionary approach during a 2012 conference visit to Peru,” the priest recalled.
In 2016, Father Kallarackal was privileged to accompany the Augustinian prior general in Nigeria, where then-Bishop Prevost “delighted” the Nigerian faithful by dancing with them in their style and engaging warmly. Father Kallarackal reminisced, “Now I feel blessed that this humble and charismatic pope had been there to bless me at my ordination in 2004.”
By Anto Akkara
This article originally appeared in the National Catholic Register, USA
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