Joseph C. Panjikaran
Mgr. Joseph C. Panjikaran | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1888 Cherthala, Kerala, India |
| Died | November 4, 1949 (aged 61) |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Msgr. Joseph C. Panjikaran (Malayalam: ജോസഫ് പഞ്ഞിക്കാരന്) was a Syro-Malabar Catholic priest and the founder of the Congregation of the Medical Sisters of St. Joseph (Dharmagiri). The cause of his canonization was initiated by the diocese of Kothamangalam in 2010.
Early Life
Msgr. Joseph C. Panjikaran was born on 10th September 1888, in a noble family in the village of Uzhuva, near Cherthala, in Ernakulam district, as the third child of Mr. Chacko Panjikaran and Mariam Kanichattu. Joseph Panjikaran was the first to obtain a M.A degree from Syrian Christians, in 1913 from St. Joseph’s College Trichy, after which he joined the diocesan seminary at Kandy (Sri Lanka) and became an ordained priest in the year 1918.
Missionary works
As a zealous missionary, Panjikaran devoted his entire life for the upliftment of the poor and marginalized, especially the untouchables, the Ezhavas and lower castes. It was a period when many Syrian Christians in Kerala considered themselves as upper castes and avoided missionary works to convert lower caste Hindus. In 1921, Mar Augustine Kandathil, Archbishop of Ernakulam Archdiocese, along with Panjikaran, founded a missionary congregation of priests and laymen, the 'Vedapracharasabha', with Joseph Panjikaran as the director, to work for bringing people outside the fold to the Catholic faith. The activities were aimed at non-Christians as well as Christians outside the Catholic Church, and led to a considerable increase in the numbers for the Catholic Church. According to Panjikaran:
Alone perhaps among the Eastern Catholics, the St. Thomas Christians are doing mission work among non-Christians on a large scale. In the Vatican Exhibition the pavilion marked 'Riti Orientali' contains the exhibits of these Christians only, and gives a good account of the work done. The system of caste so prevalent in India made its influence felt among them as well. The high-caste Hindus were hard to convert, and as for the lower, the Christians, as descendants of the high caste, thought that by admitting the low caste converts to their community their social position and the esteem in which they were held by the high caste Hindus would suffer. But these ideas are fast changing. ... It was only within the last few years that a new impetus has been given to the propaganda and work on an organised scale carried on. The credit of this is due to the Most Rev. Mar Augustine Kandathil, Archbishop of Ernakulam. His famous pastoral on the subject has been a trumpet-call to the Christians to march to the conquest of their non-Catholic neighbours. A 'Society for the Conversion of Pagans' has been started and its branches are established in nearly all the parishes. The problem of caste too has, in a way, been solved. The only church in the Archdiocese meant exclusively for the new converts was pulled down, and they were admitted to the parish churches. In some places there was opposition from the old Christians, but the bishop was adamant. Priests and educated lay opinion rallied to the help of the bishop, and the battle was won. Laymen too are showing great interest in the work, the members of the noble Parayil family being specially worthy of mention. The result of all this is has been that in 1923, the Archdiocese alone had 4089 conversions of pagans and took second rank in the list of adult conversions among all the dioceses of India, Burmah, and Ceylon. In four years over ten thousand have been fed, instructed, clothed, and baptised.
In the early 20th century, when health was not considered a priority issue, the heart of this visionary was set on fire with zeal and compassion for the suffering of the underprivileged in Kerala. A zealous pastor that he was, Panjikaran directly saw the pain, the hardships, and the loneliness of the sick and the poor during his many pastoral visits. It was his deep conviction that the Church had the responsibility to provide Medical Service to these people. As a result of his earnest prayer and hard work, Msgr. Panjikaran opened a hospital named Dharmagiri (Charity Mount) at Kothamangalam, Kerala in 1934. He was strongly convinced that only consecrated persons can see Jesus in the sick and led them to salvation by their compassionate service. The congregation of Medical Sisters of St.Joseph was the fruit of the deep God experience and merciful love of Msgr. Joseph Panjikaran towards the sick and suffering.
On 4th November 1949, Msgr Panjikaran passed away for his eternal reward.
Academic works
While a missionary, Msgr. Panjikaran was also an eminent scholar and Church historian. His dissertation, "The Syrian Church in Malabar", submitted for the Master of Arts Degree of the University of Madras, is widely cited among Church historians [1]. In his treatise, Msgr. Panjikaran contested the widely held view that the Syrian Church in Kerala was Nestorian before the arrival of Portuguese in the 15th century, and attempted to prove that the Syrian Church in India was in communion with Rome even before European missions.
A remnant of the ancient glory of Alangad, in Ernakulam district, a Pahlavi Cross dating back to the early centuries, was discovered by Msgr. Panjikaran in 1931[2].
Msgr.Panjikaran also served as the editor of Sathyadeepam, one of the earliest Catholic weeklies in Malayalam.