Pope Leo XIV says "...Saint Thomas Christians of India have a well-deserved reputation for devout families..I pray that strong faith may continue to thrive" FULL TEXT

Pope Leo XIV met with a delegation of clergy, religious and faithful of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church to the Vatican on June 15 for the first convention of Syro-Malankara faithful residing in Europe. The Pope noted that the entire Syro-Malankara Church has embarked on a multi-year journey of spiritual renewal in preparation for its centenary, honoring the one hundred years since the establishment of full ecclesial communion that led to the growth of the Church as it exists today. Recalling the Apostolic Constitution Christo Pastorum Principi, promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1932, the Holy Father expressed gratitude for the witness of Venerable Mar Ivanios and Mar Theophilos, who guided clergy, religious and faithful towards communion with the Successor of Peter.

ADDRESS OF POPE LEO XIV
TO PILGRIMS OF THE SYRO-MALANKARAN CHURCH IN EUROPE

Clementine Hall
Monday, 15 June 2026

[Multimedia]

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!

Your Beatitude, Your Excellencies,
Dear priests, consecrated men and women,
Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to welcome this significant delegation of the Syro-Malankara Church as part of the first convention of your clergy and faithful residing in Europe. Your Major Archbishop, Cardinal Baselios Mar Cleemis, today turns 67 years old. Happy birthday, Your Beatitude! I also extend my prayerful congratulations in anticipation of Your Beatitude’s Episcopal Silver Jubilee in August, for which the festivities have already begun with a special celebration here in Rome yesterday. Particular greetings as well to Bishop Kuriakose Mar Osthathios, the recently appointed Apostolic Visitator to the Syro-Malankara faithful residing in Europe, who has organized this convention.

Dear brothers and sisters, I understand that your entire sui iuris Church is embarking on an intense multi-year journey of spiritual renewal in preparation for its centenary. As we have just entered the 95th year since the establishment of your Hierarchy by the Apostolic Constitution Christo Pastorum Principi of Pope Pius XI on 11 June 1932, I wish to recall that text of my illustrious predecessor, which opens with gratitude to Christ, the Chief of Pastors. We too “render the most humble and fervent thanks” to God for Venerable Mar Ivanios, who together with Mar Theophilos, guided several priests and a good number of faithful, including men and women religious from the Bethany Congregations to rediscover ecclesial communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter as a vital part of living the Christian faith. The first Syro-Malankara Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum was indeed a true Shepherd after the Heart of Jesus through whom the Holy Spirit guided God’s flock. He beautifully exemplified that “great desire for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world” (Homily, 18 May 2025) of which I spoke at the Solemn Mass for the Inauguration of my Pontificate.

Even as a young priest, Mar Ivanios looked far beyond the borders of his Christian community in Kerala and saw clearly the need to recover the dynamism of the good seed planted in India by the preaching and the martyrdom of Saint Thomas the Apostle. He also insisted that missionary work not be performed with words alone, but rather through a virtuous life and genuine charitable service. For this reason, ever since its inception, your Church has always been a beacon of evangelical energy and apostolic charity, bringing social justice, education and integral human development to those on the margins of society. In this way, the Gospel spreads, just as my venerable predecessor Pope Benedict XVI said, “by ‘attraction’: just as Christ ‘draws all to himself’ by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the Cross” (Homily for the opening of the Aparecida Conference, 13 May 2007).

The Syro-Malankara Church thus quickly began to grow beyond ethnic or linguistic limits, initially in Tamil Nadu, fruit of an evangelization effort that dates back to 1934. Those vibrant Syro-Malankara Catholic communities have flourished due to the commitment of the Hierarchy and also the commitment of the dedicated consecrated women belonging to the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary. I encourage the Synod of Bishops and the Religious Institutes of your Church to show similar commitment to the more recently created circumscriptions in India, especially the vast Eparchies of Saint Ephrem of Khadki and Saint John Chrysostom of Gurgaon. We have a future candidate coming forward here.

At the same time, an equally urgent commitment is required to the preservation and promotion of the inestimable treasures incarnated by all the Eastern Churches especially in the growing diaspora, as I had occasion to say during your Jubilee, which fell just a few days after my papal election (cf. Address, 14 May 2025). In this vein, recognising the presence of numerous Syro-Malankara faithful in North America, Pope Benedict XVI erected an Apostolic Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara faithful in the United States. Ten years ago, raising the Exarchate to the rank of Eparchy, my venerable predecessor Pope Francis extended the care of the Eparchial Bishop to all the Syro-Malankara faithful in Canada as well.

With analogous intentions, I, already in the first year of my pontificate, appointed the first full-time Apostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malankara Catholics throughout Europe, His Excellency Mar Osthathios. His responsibility is to survey the current state of pastoral care with a view to making proposals to the local Bishops and to the Holy See for the spiritual good of the faithful. In this regard, I have asked the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches to help me “define principles, norms, and guidelines whereby Latin Bishops can concretely support Eastern Catholics in the diaspora in their efforts to preserve their living traditions and thus, by their distinctive witness, to enrich the communities in which they live” (Ibid.). The same Curial Institution will help me to evaluate the best ways to establish firm and enduring foundations so that future generations of Syro-Malankara faithful will continue to deepen their friendship with the Lord Jesus through engagement with their unique traditions, thus benefiting the Catholic Church as a whole.

Dear brothers and sisters, I ask all of you to promote greater awareness about the precious identity of the Syro-Malankara Church and your own identification with it, by participating in its ecclesial life and experiencing your unique heritage, aware of your great dignity, while remaining united to the Major Archbishop and Synod of Bishops. Knowing that the Saint Thomas Christians of India have a well-deserved reputation for devout families from which arise many vocations to the priesthood and religious life, I pray that strong faith may continue to thrive in your homes and your hearts, particularly in those of the young.

Invoking abundant graces from Almighty God upon all those who join in celebrating this joyful occasion with you, so that you may follow Christ ever more closely every day, becoming messengers of hope to all, I gladly impart the Apostolic Blessing. May the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Peace, Saint Thomas the Apostle and all your Holy Patrons, especially the Venerable Mar Ivanios, intercede for you! Thank you very much.