Pope Francis has appointed Auxillary Bishop Joy Alappat as the new prelate of St Thomas Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Chicago to succeed Bishop Jacob Angadiath who has turned 76 years old.
The 65-year-old prelate has been serving the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Chicago as its auxiliary bishop since 2014.
Bishop Alappat was born in southern Kerala state’s Thrissur district on Sept. 27, 1956, as the second son of the late Varghese and the late Rosy Alappat.
Although his baptismal name is John, he is commonly known as Bishop Joy Alappatt.
He joined the St. Mary’s Minor Seminary, Thope, Thrissur, after high school, and completed his major seminary at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor, Kottayam.
He was ordained priest on Dec. 31, 1981, for the diocese of Irinjalakuda in Kerala.
He came to the United States in 1994 and served as associate pastor in Staten Island, New York, and New Milford, New Jersey.
Bishop Alappat completed his Clinical Pastoral Education Program and worked at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC, as a chaplain.
He was invited by Bishop Angadiath in 2001 to serve in the St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago and was appointed director of Syro-Malabar Mission of Garfield, Newark, and administrator of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Garfield.
He was appointed as auxiliary bishop on July 24, 2014, and was ordained bishop on Sept. 27, 2014.
Bishop Alappat has written lyrics for several Christian devotional songs and published music albums. He is well-known as a retreat preacher and a skilled pastor and administrator.
The Syro-Malabar Church is one of two Eastern rite Catholic churches that originated in India. The other is the Syro-Malankara Church.
