Kuriakose Elias Chavara was a Syro-Malabar priest from Kerala, India, who founded religious congregations and promoted education and printing, renewing the Indian Church.
Life
Kuriakose Elias Chavara was born in 1805 in Kainakary, Kerala, India. He entered the seminary as a boy and was ordained a priest of the Syro-Malabar Church in 1829.
Together with fellow priests he founded at Mannanam the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), the first indigenous religious congregation for men in India, and later helped found a congregation for women (CMC). He urged that a school be built beside every church so that the poor and children of every background could learn, and he set up a printing press to publish books of faith. He also worked to preserve unity during a time of division in the Church.
He died in 1871 and was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014.
Spirituality
Saint Chavara’s spirituality is action rooted in prayer. Grounded in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and trust in God the Father, he worked tirelessly for education, the renewal of family faith and the unity of the Church. He especially hoped that every Christian family would become a school of faith.
Reflection
Saint Chavara believed the family is the first school where we learn the faith. How about setting aside a small time today to pray together and share our faith at home?