>Oculi at 23:52, 14 June 2021

2021-06-14T23:52:20Z

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{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| honorific-prefix =[[His Grace]]
| name = <br>Archbishop Abraham Kattumana
| honorific-suffix =
| title = [[Pontifical Delegate]] to [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]], [[Titular Archbishop]] of [[Cebarades]]
| image =Archbishop_Mar_Abraham_Kattumana.jpg
| caption =
| province =
| diocese =
| see = [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly|Ernakulam-Angamaly]]
| ended =
| predecessor = [[Mar Antony Padiyara]]
| successor = [[Mar Varkey Vithayathil]]
| ordination = 3 May 1969
| consecration = 3 August 1991
| other_post = [[Apostolic Pro-nuncio]] of [[Ghana]], [[Benin]] and [[Togo]]
| rank =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1944|1|21}}
| birth_place = [[Vaikom]], [[Travancore]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1995|4|4|1944|1|21}}
| death_place = [[Rome]], [[Italy]]
| buried = [[St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica]], [[Ernakulam]]
| nationality =
| religion = [[Catholic]] [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]]
| residence =
| parents = George Kattumana,
Mrs. Marykutty George Thuruthumaliyil.
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| alma_mater = [[Pontifical Urban University]], [[de Propaganda Fide]], [[Rome]]
[[Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy]], [[Rome]]
| signature =
}}

'''Archbishop Abraham Kattumana''' (21 January 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an Indian [[Catholic]] [[Archbishop]]. He was the [[Pontifical Delegate]] of [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]] with the powers of the [[Major Archbishop]] vested in him by [[Pope John Paul II]]. Previously, he had served as [[apostolic nuncio]] to Ghana, Benin, and Togo. He was a [[Holy See|Vatican]] [[diplomat]] and served at the Nunciatures in Indonesia, Uruguay, Iraq, New Zealand and Great Britain.

==Early life and ordination==
Archbishop Abraham Kattumana was born to George Kattumana and Marykutty George Thuruthumaliyil at [[Thottakam]], [[Vaikom]]. After completing SSLC he joined the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam on 13 June 1960. He began his philosophy studies at St Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary at Alwaye in 1962. After three months he was sent to Rome for continuing the studies. From 1962 to 1969 he studied at the Pontifical Urban University and took master's degree in philosophy and theology. The young Abraham was ordained priest on 3 May 1969 in Rome by late Cardinal Joseph Parecattil. Later Fr. Kattumana joined the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Rome (1969 Batch) where Vatican Diplomats are trained. In the meantime he obtained also a doctorate in Canon Law from Pontifical Urban University, Rome.

==Vatican diplomat==
On successful completion of the course at the Academy he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1973. As a Vatican Diplomat he served at the Nunciatures of Indonesia, Uruguay, Iraq, New Zealand and Great Britain.

During his tenure as Pontifical Delegate to the [[Syro Malabar Catholic Church]], the powers of Major Archbishop were vested in him, though the office was held by [[Mar Antony Padiyara]]. He established the foundations of the Synodal Church. He died from a massive heart attack during a visit to Rome to submit his observations on the Syro Malabar Church.

==Pro-Nuncio to Ghana, Benin & Togo==
On 8 May 1991 Fr. Kattumana was elected to the titular see of Cebarades following his appointment as Pro-Nuncio to the African states of Ghana, Benin and Togo and was consecrated bishop on 3 August 1991 at Ernakulam by Cardinal Antony Padiyara.

==Pontifical Delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church==
In December 1992 Archbishop Kattumana was appointed as Pontifical Delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church when the latter was elevated to Major Archiepiscopal status. Archbishop Kattumana was appointed to "exercise for the duration of his mandate, the functions of pastoral governance proper to the major archbishop." Specifically he had the faculty to convoke and preside over the Synod of Bishops, and to establish the Permanent Synod in the Syro Malabar Catholic Church and the other pastoral and legislative organs of the Church and to invigilate over the functioning of the St Thomas Apostolic Seminary at Vadavathoor, Kottayam.

==Death==
Archbishop Kattumana had gone to Rome on 30 March 1995 to meet the Pope and the officials of the various Vatican Congregations. While pursuing his mission there he was admitted to the clinic run by the Daughters of St Mary of Leuca in the suburbs of Rome on 3 April afternoon for therapeutic observation, and died of heart failure on 4 April. His body was flown back to Ernakulam on the following day and was buried in St Mary’s Basilica, the Cardinal Church of Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ernakulam. His tomb is beside that of Cardinal [[Mar Joseph Parecattil]], the late Metropolitan of Ernakulam who ordained Mar Abraham Kattumana to priesthood.

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110412072157/http://www.ernakulamarchdiocese.org/prelates_archdiocese.php Archdiocese of Ernakulam]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkattu.html Mar Abraham Kattumana at Catholic hierarchy]
* [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-04-06/news/9504060066_1_pope-john-paul-ii-catholic-communion-chicago-area Obituary at Chicago Tribune]
* [http://www.cnewa.us/default.aspx?ID=574&pagetypeID=4&sitecode=US&pageno=1 Syro-Malabar Catholic Church becomes a Major Archiepiscopal Church]

{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before= None
| title=''[[List of Major Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly|Pontifical Delegate to Syro-Malabar church]]''
| years=1992–1995
| after=None
}}
{{succession box
| before= [[Mar Antony Padiyara]]
| title=''[[Major Archbishop]] to [[Syro-Malabar Church]]''
| years=1992–1995
| after= Cardinal [[Mar Antony Padiyara]]
}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Archbishop]] [[Giuseppe Bertello]]
| title=''[[Pro-Nuncio]] to [[Ghana]], [[Benin]] and [[Togo]]''
| years=1991–1992
| after=[[Archbishop]] [[André Dupuy]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Christianity in Kerala}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kattumana, Mar Abraham}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from Kottayam]]
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Apostolic Nuncios to Ghana]]
[[Category:Apostolic Nuncios to Benin]]
[[Category:Apostolic Nuncios to Togo]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly]]
[[Category:20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:People from Vaikom]]

Abraham Kattumana - Revision history

>Oculi at 23:52, 14 June 2021