Prime Minister Modi says Monsignor Koovakad’s elevation an immense pride for India
Team News Riveting
Kottayam, December 8
Archbishop George Jacob Koovakad was ordained as a Cardinal by Pope Francis on Saturday as the grand consistory at Vatican City.
He was among the 21 new Cardinals appointed by the Vatican.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi remarked that he was delighted at His Eminence George Jacob Koovakad being created a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church by His Holiness Pope Francis.
Modi in a post on X said: “A matter of great joy and pride for India! Delighted at His Eminence George Jacob Koovakad being created a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church by His Holiness Pope Francis. His Eminence George Cardinal Koovakad has devoted his life in service of humanity as an ardent follower of Lord Jesus Christ. My best wishes for his future endeavours.”
George Koovakad was born in Chethipuzha, an urban district in the municipality of Changanacherry in Kerala on 11 August 1973. He earned his intermediate and bachelor’s degrees in chemistry from SB College, Changanassery in 1994 where he was also the president of Catholic Students Movement in the college. He obtained a licentiate in 2004, studying at St Thomas Minor Seminary, Kurichy, and St Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva.
He was ordained a priest of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry on 24 July 2004 by Archbishop Joseph Powathil. He served for a term as assistant vicar of St Mary’s Church, Parel, Changanacherry.
Moving to Rome, he obtained a doctorate in canon law in 2006 from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross with a thesis on “The Obligation of Poverty for Secular Clerics in the Codes of Canon Law”. After completing the preparatory program at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, he joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2006. He worked in the nunciature in Algeria and then served as secretary of the nunciaturea in South Korea from 2009 to 2012 and in Iran from 2012 to 2014 and as counsellor of the nunciatures in Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018 and in Venezuela from 2018 to 2020. On 1 October 2014 he was given the title Chaplain of His Holiness, and on 13 December 2019 that of Prelate of Honor of His Holiness.
In July 2020 he joined the staff of the Secretariat of State and since 2021 has organized several papal trips, including visits to Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan, as well as a lengthy trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. In 2024 he visited India to lead Holy Week services at his family’s home parish, Lourde Matha Parish at Mammoodu in Changanacherry.
On October 6, 2024, Pope Francis announced he intended to make Koovakad a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December. According to church sources, he will remain in a post at the Holy See.
Hundreds of devotees flocked to the Lord’s Matha Church in Mammoodu, the Cardinal’s home parish in Kottayam, to mark the joyous occasion. Firecrackers lit up the night as sweets were distributed among the gathering. A large screen set up inside the church streamed the services from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, allowing devotees to witness the historic moment live.
