THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Christudas R was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram at a solemn function here on Sunday evening.
M Soosapakiam, the Latin Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram, led the ceremony held at the Madre de Deus Church, Vettucaud. As many as 20 bishops of the Catholic Church, including Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, were present at the consecration.
The proclamation from Rome, declaring Christudas as bishop of the Catholic Church, was read out in the original Latin and its Malayalam translation.
Special prayers were held, after which the official symbols, including the ring and sceptre, were handed to Christudas. Christudas was born to Rajappan and Angelina on November 25, 1971, and is an alumnus of the St Xavier’s College, Thumba, Menamkulam Minor Seminary and the Papal Seminary, Pune. Ordained as a priest in 1998, he was secretary to the Archbishop from 1999 to 2001. He studied German in Austria, and pastoral theology at the Scalabrini International Migration University, Rome. Subsequently, he took his doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome.
Cardinal Mar George Alencherry delivered the benedictory address at Sunday’s ceremony.