Kuriakose Elias Chavara
Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, CMI was an Indian Catholic priest, religious, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and was a member of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic church.
He was the co-founder and first Prior General of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, the first religious congregation for men in the Syro-Malabar Church. The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel, originally known as the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites, was founded by St Kuriakose Elias Chavara in 1866 in Kerala.
Early life
Kuriakose Elias Chavara was born on 10 February 1805 at Kainakary, Kerala in a Nasrani Christian family as the son of Iko Chavara and Mariam Thoppil. Nasranis are Saint Thomas Christians who trace their lineage to the ancient Christians of Kerala baptised by Thomas the Apostle. The name Kuriakose is derived from the Syriac Aramaic name ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ. He was baptised on 18 February 1805 at St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chennamkary. On 8 September 1805, Chavara was dedicated to Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Mary's Church, Vechoor. The Chavara family has derived from the ancient Nasrani family Meenappally in Kainakary.In his childhood, Kuriakose attended the village school. There he studied language and elementary sciences. He entered the seminary in 1818 in Pallipuram where Palackal Thoma Malpan was the Rector. He was ordained a priest on 29 November 1829 and celebrated first Holy Qurbana at St. Andrew's Basilica, Arthunkal, Alappuzha. His special intention during the first Holy Qurabana was the realization of the religious institute which was being contemplated by Palackal Thomas Malpan, Porukara Thomas
Kathanar, Brother Jacob Kaniathara and himself.
Later life
Kuriakose Elias Chavara joined with two other priests, Palackal Thoma Malpan and Porukara Thoma Kathanar to lead a monastic life. The name of the community they founded was Servants of Mary Immaculate. The foundation for the first monastery at Mannanam was laid on 11 May 1831 by Porukara Thomas Kathanar. Palackal Malpan and Porukara Kathanar died in 1841 and 1846 respectively. On 8 December 1855, Kuriakose Elias Chavara and ten other priests took vows in the Carmelite tradition. He was nominated as the Prior General of Mannanam monastery. The congregation became affiliated as a Third Order institute of the Discalced Carmelites. From that point on they used the postnominal initials of TOCD.Social reformer
Kuriakose Elias Chavara initiated reforms in the Kerala society much before Narayana Guru Chattambi Swamikal and Vakkom Abdul Khadar Maulavi. Though he hailed from a Syriac Christian family, which occupied a higher social status, he played a major role in educating and uplifting people especially of the lower ranks of society.Education
Kuriakose Chavara started an institution for Sanskrit studies at Mannanam in 1846. A tutor belonging to the Variar community was brought from Thrissur, to teach at this Sanskrit institution. After establishing the Sanskrit institution in Mannanam, Chavara took the initiative to start a school in a nearby village called Arpookara. On this Parappurath Varkey wrote in the Chronicles of the Mannanam monastery: “While the work on the Mannanam School began, a place on the Arpookara Thuruthumali hill was located to build a Chapel and school for the converts from the Pulaya caste." Chavara was the first Indian who not only dared to admit the untouchables to schools but also provided them with Sanskrit education which was forbidden to the lower castes, thereby challenging social bans based on caste, as early as the former part of the 19th century.In 1856, Archbishop Bernardine Baccinelli issued a pastoral letter directing that each parish should establish an educational institution, with noncompliance potentially resulting in exclusion from the sacraments. This directive contributed to the widespread establishment of parish-based schools in Kerala, which came to be commonly known as Pallikudams. While there is no direct evidence that Kuriakose Elias Chavara initiated this circular, he played an important role in its implementation. As the Prior of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, he actively encouraged his congregation to support parish-level education and ensured that nearby monasteries oversaw these initiatives.
Midday meal
Kuriakose Chavara knew that the schools he started in Mannanam and Arpookara would be successful if the poor students especially dalits were given midday meals. It was his original idea. It inspired Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer to recommend this to King for being implemented in all government run schools. This practice is continued even today in government schools in India.Pidiyari
Kuriakose Chavara started a charity practice known as Pidiyari to encourage people to make daily small donations to help the needy. The Pidyari scheme supported the Midday meal Kuriakose Chavara popularized in schools. The Pidiyari scheme was implemented in the following way: Participants would daily set aside a small quantity of rice in a special collection pot. The rice collected would be brought to Church during the weekends and was used to feed the poor, especially students for midday meal. A pious organization was formed by Kuriakose Chavara called “Unnimishihayude Dharma Sabha” who took care of the Pidiyari collection.Printing press
Kuriakose Chavara started St. Joseph's Press at Mannanam in 1846, which was the third printing press in Kerala and the first press founded by a Malayali without the help of foreigners. From this printing press came the oldest existing Malayalam newspaper in circulation Nasrani Deepika.Service to the Church
Kuriakose Elias Chavara introduced retreat preaching for the laity for the first time in the Kerala Church. He popularised devotions and piety exercises such as rosary, way of the cross and eucharistic adoration. He was the Vicar General of Syriac Rite Catholics in 1861 in order to counter the influence of Mar Thomas Rochos on Saint Thomas Christians.Congregations founded
CMI Congregation
In co-operation with Palackal Thoma Malpan and Thoma Porukara, Kuriakose Elias Chavara founded an Indian religious congregation for men, now known as the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. Chavara took religious vows on 8 December 1855 and took the name of Kuriakose Elias of the Holy Family.Kuriakose Elias Chavara was the Prior General of all the monasteries of the congregation from 1856 till his death in 1871. He was commonly called under the name 'Common Prior'. The activities of the members of CMI congregation under the leadership of Chavara created huge transformation in the society. This made priests and people to request Chavara to open religious houses in their area. He established seven new monasteries besides Mannanam. They are Koonammavu-1857, Elthuruth-1858, Plasnal-1858, Vazhakulam-1859, Pulincunnu-1861, Ambazhakad-1868, and Mutholy-1870. In 1864, The Vicar Apostolic transferred St. Chavara to Koonammavu Monastery.
Carmelite Congregation for Women
On 13 February 1866, the first Carmelite convent for women was established at Koonammavu under the name Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites. While Kuriakose Elias Chavara played a supportive role in promoting women's religious life, the founding of the TOCD has been officially attributed to Mother Eliswa Vakayil. On 14 April 2025, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, with the approval of Pope Francis, promulgated a decree recognizing her as the foundress:“The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founder of the Congregation of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites, now the Teresian Carmelite Nuns…”
The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel continues to recognize the historical contributions of Chavara for all his support to the congregation, while the CTC congregation identifies Mother Eliswa as its sole foundress.
Kuriakose Elias Chavara strongly desired the establishment of a women’s religious congregation in the Malabar Church. He considered the absence of convents for women a “pathetic situation” and hoped for a space where girls could receive spiritual instruction, become good Christians, and contribute to society through education and virtue. He offered support and spiritual direction to those pursuing such a vision.
His close associate and confessor, Fr. Leopold Beccaro, noted Chavara’s enthusiasm and administrative support in helping organize the early steps of the congregation. However, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in a decree approved by Pope Francis on 14 April 2025, officially recognized Mother Eliswa Vakayil as the founder of the Congregation of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites, now known as the Congregation of the Teresian Carmelites. While Chavara was a significant supporter, the canonical designation of foundress is now formally attributed to Mother Eliswa.
Writings
All the literary works of Kuriakose Chavara were written between 1829 and 1870. The literary writings of Kuriakose Chavara are unique in two aspects. First, it reflects the religious spiritualism of Christianity. Second, even after a century after the Kuriakose Chavara wrote, there are limited number of literary works with reference to Christianity.The writings of Kuriakose Elias Chavara can be divided generally into following categories during the namely:
- Chronics and historical writings
- Spiritual writings
- Letters
- Prayer Texts
- Writings on Liturgy
- Writings related to administration
Chronicles and historical writings