FR. ABRAHAM MUTHOLATH
Fr. Abraham Mutholath was the
first Knanaya Catholic Vicar General and the first director of the
Knanaya Region in the
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar
Catholic Diocese of Chicago. He took initiative in starting Knanaya
Catholic missions and parishes in the United States. He was the first
director of some of those missions and the first pastor of some of the
Knanaya Catholic parishes in the United States.
As a priest ordained and
incardinated in the Archdiocese of
Kottayam, Fr. Mutholath served in the parishes and institutions of
the Archdiocese of Kottayam. He authored six books in Malayalam, one
book in English, and has been a youth trainer. He authored many articles
in English and Malayalam and was editor of souvenir books of the
Archdiocese of Kottayam and of some parishes. Fr. Mutholath is a public
speaker and prepares homilies
based on Sunday Bible Readings and on the feasts of saints that he makes
available to priests, preachers, and Bible students through his website.
He also provides Bible
Interpretation and Bible
Reflection through his websites.
While in the United States, Fr.
Mutholath serves as hospital chaplain and parish priest. As a social
worker, he donated land and building for
Agape Bhavan
for the physically and mentally challenged (differently abled),
Good Samaritan
Resource Centre for the Blind and Deaf,
Mutholath Auditorium to
financially support the projects for the Agape and Good Samaritan
centers at Cherpunkal and
Impact Centre for
residential camps for the benefit of the differently abled. He has also
been supporting missionary dioceses in Northeast India, especially the
Diocese of Miao. He
established Fr. Abraham
Mutholathu Foundation to continue his legacy.
CONTENTS
1
Biography
1.1
Education
2
Highlights
4
Wikipedia
5
External links
6
Books by Fr. Mutholath
Fr. Mutholath was born in
October 1954 to traditional Catholic parents in the Mutholath family in
the state of Kerala, in India. He has one brother and five sisters. He
is US citizen and lives in Chicago.
Fr. Mutholath’s primary
education was at Puliyannnoor New Government Lower Primary School and at
Holy Cross Upper Primary School in Cherpunkal. From sixth grade to tenth
grade, he studied in the English Medium section of St. Mary’s High
School Kidangoor.
After high school, he joined St.
Stanislaus Minor Seminary at Sacred Heart Mount Kottayam. During his
three years of training there, he attended CMS College Kottayam for a
pre-degree course. Then he got admission to the Pontifical Institute of
Philosophy and Theology at Alwaye in Kerala state. The course included
three years of philosophy and four years of theology courses.
After seven years of pastoral
experience, Fr. Mutholath went to Los Angeles, California, USA, in
November 1987 for studies in Communication and Fine Arts. While staying
at St. Jerome Parish in Los Angeles, he studied at California State
University, Dominguez Hills, for a certificate program in Journalism and
TV Production. Then he studied at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and
secured an M.A. degree in TV Production in 1992.
Fr. Mutholath studied Clinical
Pastoral Education at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles from 2001–200.
Later, he studied at DePaul University in Chicago for MPS (Master of
Science in Public Services) in 2004.
Fr. Mutholath was ordained as a
priest by Archbishop Mar Kuriakose Kunnacherry on December 21, 1980, at
Christ the King Cathedral Kottayam. He was then appointed as assistant
vicar (associate pastor) at St. Stephen’s Forane Church, Uzhavoor, for
15 months. Then he was vicar (pastor) of St. Michael’s Church,
Veliyanad, for three years from 1982 to 1985. From there, he was
transferred as pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Pachira, for another three
years before he went for his higher studies in Los Angeles.
After his return from the United
States, Fr. Mutholath was chaplain of Knanaya Catholic Youth League
(KCYL), the youth ministry of the Archdiocese of Kottayam, from 1992 to
1999. He also served as the director of Chaithanya Pastoral Centre of
the Kottayam Archdiocese at Thellakom near Kottayam from 1994 to 2000.
Fr. Mutholath went to Los
Angeles in December 2000 to serve as chaplain at Robert F. Kennedy
Medical Center in Hawthorne, Los Angeles. He served the Kerala Catholics
in Los Angeles by offering Mass for them. Later, he took leadership to
start Knanaya Catholic Mission in Los Angeles and served as its first
mission director.
Fr. Mutholath has been the
director of Knanaya Catholic Mission in Chicago since July 1, 2004. He
founded Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Parish in Maywood and St. Mary's
Knanaya Catholic Parish in Morton Grove. Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath
appointed him as the first pastor of Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic
Church in Maywood in September 2006 and as the first pastor of the St.
Mary's Knanaya Catholic Church in Morton Grove in July 2010.
Fr. Mutholath took the
initiative of establishing Visitation Convent in Los Angeles by bringing
four sisters from Visitation Congregation at Kottayam in India to serve
at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, CA. He also helped in
the establishment of St. Joseph’s Convent in West Covina, Los Angeles,
by bringing five sisters of St. Joseph's Congregation from Kottayam in
India to serve at a hospital in West Covina. Later, he helped to start
Visitation Convent in Chicago in July 2010.
Mar Jacob Angadiath, the first
bishop of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago, appointed
him on October 3, 2001, as the Syncellus (Vicar General) of the Eparchy.
At the request of the bishop, he moved from Los Angeles to Chicago in
February 2003.
Fr. Mutholath founded the new
Knanaya Catholic Missions and parishes in the USA. He was the first
mission director of Los Angeles from 2002 to 2003. Bishop Mar Jacob
Angadiath established the Knanaya Catholic Region in his diocese on
April 30, 2006. Fr. Mutholath, as Vicar General of the diocese, was
appointed also as the director of this region. Fr. Mutholath, with the
support of the lay people, started the Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic
Forane Parish at Maywood, Illinois, in September 2006 and St. Mary’s
Knanaya Catholic Parish at Morton Grove, Illinois, on July 18, 2010.
Bishop Angadiath appointed him as the first pastor in both parishes. Fr.
Mutholath was the motivating force behind establishing many of the
Knanaya Catholic Missions and parishes when he continued to be vicar
general until February 8, 2014. As of March 2017, Fr. Mutholath
continued to minister at Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Forane Parish at
Maywood, Illinois.
Fr. Mutholath has published six
books in Malayalam, some of which went into many editions and one book
in English.
You Too Can be a Leader (നിങ്ങൾക്കും
നേതാവാകാം) published first by Janatha Books, Thevara, Kochi
and later two editions by Current Books, Kottayam.
Leadership Training (നേതൃത്വ
പരിശീലനം) Two editions, Published by D.C. Books, Kottayam.
Bible Games (ബൈബിൾ
ഗെയിംസ്) Two editions, by Janatha Books, Thevara.
Priestly Leadership Today,
Tomorrow (വൈദിക നേതൃത്വം ഇന്ന് നാളെ)
by Deepika Book House, Kottayam.
Annamma Cheduthy Amerikkayil
(Annamma in America - A satire novel in Malayalam)
അന്നാമ്മാച്ചേടത്തി അമേരിക്കയിൽ (ഹാസ്യ നോവൽ)
by Yes Press Books. Perumbavoor, Kerala.
Wavering Pilate (Patharunna
Peelathose പതറുന്ന പീലാത്തോസ്) by St. Paul Publications Ernakulam.
Joy of the Word, Bible
commentary based on the gospel readings of the Syro-Malabar Church
published by St. Paul Publications, Mumbai.
Fr. Mutholath was the chief
editor of the following Souvenir publications:
Platinum Jubilee Souvenir of the
Diocese of Kottayam published in 1986 by Jyothi Book House Kottayam.
Jubilee Smruthi, Episcopal
Silver Jubilee Souvenir of Mar Kuriakose Kunnacherry, published in 1993
by KCYL and distributed by Jyothi Book House, Kottayam.
Managing editor of Silver
Jubilee Souvenir – 2008 published by Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic
Parish Chicago.
Managing editor of Dasavarsha
Smruthi, Tenth Anniversary Souvenir of the Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic
Parish Chicago published in 2016.
Managing editor of "Vayal,"
Anniversary Souvenir of Veliyanad YMCA - 1984 published by Veliyanad
YMCA.
Besides authoring seven books
and editing the above souvenir publications, Fr. Mutholath authored the
two booklets with the history of St. Mary’s Church, Pachira and Sts.
Peter and Paul Church, Cherpunkal.
He authored articles in various
periodicals and professional publications. A few examples are the
following:
“Church and Social Work”,
Religion and Thought (Malayalam: “സഭയും സാമുഹ്യ
പ്രവർത്തനവും”, മതവും ചിന്തയും),
A Philosophico-Theological Bimonthly in Malayalam, March–April 1978,
Pontifical Institute, Aluva. Pages 156-175.
“Priestly Ministry in the Church
History”, Religion and Thought (Malayalam: “പൗരോഹിത്യ
ശുശ്രൂഷ സഭാചരിത്രത്തിൽ”, മതവും
ചിന്തയും), A Philosophico-Theological Bimonthly in
Malayalam, January–February 1981, Pontifical Institute, Aluva.
“Preservation of the Ecclesial
Nature of Knanaya Community in North America”, Centenary Symposia,
Archdiocese of Kottayam, 2014, pp. 497–505.
Fr. Mutholath was chief editor
of Apna Des, a Malayalam biweekly of the Archdiocese of Kottayam. While
he was serving in that capacity from 1985 to 1987, he professionalized
the periodical and made it popular with a high volume of subscribers.
He was also the editor of Sacred
Heart Monthly, the official periodical of the Archdiocese of Kottayam
from 1985 to 1987.
During the same period, he
served as the manager of Catholic Mission Press and Jyothi Book House
owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Kottayam.
Fr. Mutholath served as the
director of Communication Media in the Archdiocese of Kottayam from 1992
to 2000. He started Kottayam Communications to train young artists for
TV and Film industry. He also produced and directed videos on social
issues with artists from Malayalam Film industry along with young
artists as talents.
Fr. Mutholath wrote a screenplay
in 1993 for a
Malayalam feature film titled Dollar directed by Raju Joseph Pralel.
The film was released in the theaters in India and was exhibited in some
theaters of the United States for people from India. The movie deals
with the issues of Indian immigrants in the United States.
Fr. Mutholath was the director
of Social Services of the Archdiocese of Kottayam and secretary of
Kottayam Social Service Society (KSSS) from 1994 to 2000. He transformed
KSSS from a charitable and welfare approach to a developmental approach.
He organized 565 self-help groups of the weaker sections of the
community. He had seven office staff and 109 field staff and hundreds of
volunteers.
He also introduced Community
Based Rehabilitation Programs in Kerala through KSSS. Fr. Mutholath also
started Chaithanya Karshika Mela at Chaithanya along with Self-help
Group Festivals that are still held towards the end of every year. He
also was the founding director of Caritas Ayurvedic Hospital at
Thellakom, Kottayam. KSSS gradually became a model social service
society in India.
Returning to the United States
in 2000, he started Agape Movement in 2001, a non-profit corporation in
the United States. Through his corporation, he and many others help
charitable and Christian missionary efforts in India and in the United
States.
Fr. Mutholath purchased land at
Cherpunkal and built a building called Agape Bhavan (home) that
functions primarily as a center for the physically and mentally
challenged or differently abled. This was his gift to Kottayam Social
Service Society when he celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his ordination
in 2005. Agape Bhavan also has a notebook-making unit and paper
bag-making unit that give employment for the differently abled and local
self-help group members. Notebooks and paper bags are supplied from the
center to the local educational institutions and hospitals. KSSS is
running this institution.
Fr. Mutholath helped the mission
Diocese of Miao in Arunachal Pradesh in India personally and encouraged
others to support the missions. Through Agape Movement, he and others
support formation of seminarians and the construction of churches,
dispensaries, and educational institutions.
Fr. Mutholath also donated 1.7
acres of his family property that he inherited for social service
purposes. This property is adjacent to a highway and the Meenachil
river. He personally donated from his earnings a major portion of money
to construct Good Samaritan Centre at the land he donated at Cherpunkal.
Later he donated money to construct Mutholath Auditorium near Good
Samaritan Centre to financially support the on-going programs for the
blind at Good Samaritan Centre, as well as an acre for more parking
space. The Archdiocese of Kottayam named the campus as Mutholath Nagar.
Later he donated money to construct Impact Center at the Mutholath Nagar
for residential training programs on social service. Archbishop Mar
Mathew Moolakkatt inaugurated the Impact Center on December 13, 2020.
1.7 FR.
ABRAHAM MUTHOLATHU FOUNDATION
Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic
Forane Parish and Mutholath Family celebrated the Ruby Jubilee of the
priestly ordination of Fr. Abraham Mutholath at Sacred Heart Knanaya
Catholic Church on December 19, 2020. Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath was the
main celebrant of the Holy Mass, along with Bishop Mar Joy Alappatt,
vicar generals and priest representatives of the diocese. In the
felicitation meeting that followed, Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath
inaugurated Fr. Abraham Mutholath Foundation and Bishop Mar Joy Alappatt
released the website of the foundation.
Fr. Abraham Mutholath
Foundation, established by Fr. Abraham Mutholath, is continuing the
charitable and missionary services of Fr. Abraham Mutholath under the
leadership of its board of directors. The foundation is a tax-exempt
private foundation incorporated in the state of Illinois on September
17, 2020.
The proposed programs of Fr.
Abraham Mutholathu Foundation:
Continuation of the legacy of
Fr. Abraham Mutholath by financially supporting social service programs.
Importance will be given to projects for the differently abled.
Promotion of philanthropists and
social workers through awards.
Organize symposia on the latest
scientific concepts of social service.
Encouraging Self-help groups,
Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) for the differently abled, and
social workers.
Support to Catholic Missionaries
and their charitable activities.
First Knanaya Vicar General of
the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago.
First Director of the Knanaya
Catholic Region in the United States.
First pastor of Sacred Heart
Knanaya Catholic Forane Parish, Chicago.
First pastor of St. Mary’s
Knanaya Catholic Parish, Chicago.
First Director of St. Pius X
Knanaya Catholic Mission in Los Angeles.
Motivating force behind starting
various Knanaya Catholic missions and parishes in the main cities of the
United States.
Took leadership to start
convents of Visitation and St. Joseph Congregations in Los Angeles and
Chicago.
Started Knanaya Catholic Parish
Cemetery sections for Sacred Heart and St. Mary's Knanaya Catholic
parishes of Chicago.
Started Agape Movement, a
non-profit corporation in the United States for charitable and pastoral
support.
Donated land and building of
Agape Bhavan at Cherpunkal for the physically and mentally challenged to
Kottayam Social Service Society as the Silver Jubilee gift of his
ordination.
Donated land and building of
Good Samaritan Resource Centre to Kottayam Social Service Society to
train the Blind-deaf.
Donated Mutholath Auditorium to
Kottayam Social Service Society to financially support the CBR projects
at Good Samaritan Resource Centre.
Donated fund for the
construction of Impact Centre for residential training programs on
social service.
Sponsored Churches in the
Mission Diocese of Miao in India.
First Director of Chaithanya
Pastoral Centre at Thellakom, Kottayam
Started Chaithanya Karshika Mela
(Agricultural Festival) at Thellakom, Kottayam
Introduced Developmental
Approach with self-help groups and Community-Based Rehabilitation
program at Kottayam Social Service Society (KSSS).
First Director of Caritas
Ayurvedic Hospital.
Screenplay writer of Malayalam
feature film, “Dollar.”
Author of seven Books.
Popularized Apna Des, the
biweekly of the Archdiocese of Kottayam.
Chief Editor of Platinum Jubilee
Souvenir of the Archdiocese of Kottayam.
Chief Editor of the Silver
Jubilee Souvenir of Archbishop Mar Kuriakose Kunnacherry.
Started the Lower Primary School
at Veliyanad Church in Kuttanad, Kerala.
Organized Veliyanad YMCA in 1982
and was the founding president.
Publishes homily resources for
priests, preachers and Bible students on website.
Webmaster of various websites.
The founding president of
Knanaya Global Foundation and leader of Knanayology Team.
The first president of Priests'
Provident Fund in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago.
“Fr. Abraham Mutholath Syncellus (Vicar General)”.
Chicago, IL: Souvenir Committee, Syro-Malabar Catholic Convention. 2001.
p. 142.
Consecration Souvenir, Cherpunkal New Church
(Malayalam), February 14, 1993.
Karakkatt, Bijo (Executive Editor), Tenth
Anniversary Souvenir of Chicago Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Forane
Parish, 2016.
Mathrusmruthi (മാതൃസ്മൃതി),
Church establishment Souvenir, St. Mary's Knanaya Catholic Parish,
Chicago, 2010.
Silver Jubilee Souvenir – 2008, Sacred Heart
Knanaya Catholic Parish, Chicago.
Souvenir 2011, St. Pius X Knanaya Catholic Church,
Los Angeles, January 2012.
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocesan Bulletin, p. 31.
Thottapuram, George, "Chronology of Events in the
Knanaya Catholic Parish in Chicago," Silver Jubilee Souvenir – 2008,
Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Parish Chicago, pp. 61-68.
Vazhayil, V.J. Kuncharia (1984). Origin and of
Veliyanad YMCA, VAYAL, YMCA Veliyanad - 1984. Veliyanad, Alleppy Dt.:
YMCA Veliyanad. pp. 31–33.
Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Church, Chicago
St. Mary's Knanaya Catholic Parish, Chicago
St. Pius X Knanaya Catholic Parish, Los Angeles
BIBLE COMMENTARIES by Fr. Abraham Mutholath
Fr.
Abraham Mutholathu Foundation
Sacred Heart
Knanaya Catholic Parish
St. Mary's Knanaya Catholic Parish
BOOKS BY FR. ABRAHAM MUTHOLATH
Book
"YOU TOO CAN BE A LEADER' in Malayalam (FLIP BOOK)
Book
LEADERSHIP TRAINING in Malayalam (FLIP BOOK)
Book
BIBLE GAMES in Malayalam (FLIP BOOK)
Book
PRIESTLY LEADERSHIP in Malayalam (FLIP BOOK)
Satire
Novel Annamma Cheduthy Amerikkayil ഹാസ്യനോവൽ അന്നാമ്മച്ചേടുത്തി
അമേരിക്കയിൽ
Wavering Pilate പതറുന്ന പീലാത്തോസ്
Joy of the Word (Bible Commentary)
