Administration

St. Thomas Province- Administration

The Vincentian Congregation was entrusted a territory, the Apostolic Exarchate of Satna on 29 July 1968 for mission work. One of the members of the Congregation, Mgr. Abraham D. Mattam, the new Exarch was entrusted with this Mission. In 1977 he was made the first Bishop of Satna Diocese. The second Bishop, Mar Mathew Vaniakizhakkel is also from the Vincentian Congregation. During the time of Msgr. A.D. Mattam, many of our priests were sent to work in this diocese. Seeing the enthusiasm of the missionaries and for the better functioning of the mission, a separate region was formed in this area on 28 February 1980. Rev. Fr. Antony Kakkanatt was the first Regional Superior.

In 1990 when the Regions of the Congregation were raised to the status of Provinces, Marymatha Region became the Marymatha Province and St. Joseph’s Region became the St. Joseph’s Province. While St. Thomas Region became the St. Thomas Vice-Province. Rev. Fr. Joseph Edattu was elected the first Provincial on April 4, 1990. In 2001 it was made a Mission Province of the Congregation and was named St. Thomas Province. The Vincentian Ashram at Rewa served as the head quarters of the St. Thomas Province till the blessing of the Provincial House of St. Thomas Province at Ujwa, Delhi on September 8, 2016. The decision to shift the Provincial House from Rewa to Delhi was taken in the Provincial Synaxis of 2013.

Rev. Frs. Mathew Vaniakizhakkel, Varghese Naickomparambil, Mathew Vattakuzhy,  Mathew Pothalil, and  Fr. John Kandathinkara served as the Provincial superiors of St. Thomas Province for different periods of time. At present the Province is led by Rev. Fr. Varghese Puthussery, elected Provincial Superior 0n 5 May 2017. 

The members of St. Thomas Region started doing pastoral ministry in the diocese of Regensburg, Germany, from 6 January 1988 onwards. In 1995 the diocese entrusted a parish called Pfreimd and with that it allowed St. Thomas Region to found a Vincentian Ashram at Pfreimd, in the former Franciscan Ashram. With the founding of the Ashram in Pfreimd more members were sent to the diocese for Parish Ministry. When the Region was elevated to the status of a Province in 2001, the members of the region remained as the members of St. Thomas Province. In 2011 the diocese entrusted St. Thomas Province a second Ashram at Fuchsmuehl (in the former Augustinian Cloister) with the Parish Fuchsmuehl and Friedenfels. 

In 1990s, the Bishops of Agra, Bareilly and Meerut invited us to Uttar Pradesh (UP). First we began our work in the diocese of Meerut. In 1991 we started our work in Budaun, in the Arch Diocese of Agra. They have entrusted us with a certain area where we are given freedom to plan the missionary activities and implement them. We have a Popular Mission Retreat Centre at Meerganj, UP, and the team is regularly giving popular mission retreats in Hindi to the parishes for the renewal of the parishes. In order to coordinate the missionary activities in U.P., it was raised as a dependent mission called Christu Jyothi mission. 

Since 2007 the Province has extended its mission work to North East India - in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. In Arunachal Pradesh our priests are engaged in preaching and giving the much needed education to the poor children, parish work, retreat programme, outreach programme to many interior villages of two different tribes, where as in Assam our missionaries are busy with a retreat center where thousands come for retreats, night vigils, guidance, etc. They also go to the parishes where they are invited and help in pastoral work and preach the Gospel.

The members of the Province are actively involved in the primary ministry of preaching the Good News to the poor through Popular Missions, residential and parish retreats, Bible Conventions, youth retreats, Bible distribution etc. The retreat centers, especially Margherita and Hazaribag, go very well serving thousands every month. It has deepened the faith of many and has brought positive changes in parishes. In the ministry of Education, the Province is running seven English Medium schools (Bilari, Bisauli, Budaun, Madhavgarh, Maidani, Tissa and Vindhyanagar) and four Hindi Medium Schools (Bilsi, Ghadiya, Kundhanpur and Kukhri). Social and charitable activities of the Province include boardings, scholarship for poor children, literacy program, village schools, medical assistance, community based programs etc. 

Present Administrative Body

Fr.Joshy Kottackal

Provincial Superior, St. Thomas Province

Fr. Mathew Vattakkuzhy

Asst. Provincial Superior &
Councilor for Mission,
Social and
Charitable Works&
Provincial Secretary

Fr. Augustine Puthiyedath

Councilor for Retreats
Popular Mission and
Pastoral Work

Fr. Martin Valiyaparambil

Councilor for Education
and Media

Fr. Sebastian Kallath

Councilor for Finance
and Construction