Pope Francis has extended the boundaries of the Eparchy of Mandya, including the six civil districts of the Bangalore region, and accepted the election of Father Antony Kariyil as bishop.
The eparchy will include the regions where there is the presence of the Syro-Malabar faithful: Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru rural, Chickballapur, Kolar, Ramnagara and Tumkur.
The Synod of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, having received the prior pontifical assent, has canonically elected Fr. Kariyil, of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, as the new bishop of the Eparchy of Mandya. He was director of Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi.
Antony Kariyil was born March 26, 1950, in Cherthala, Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. He made his First Profession in 1967 and was ordained a priest Dec. 27, 1977.
After completing his Philosophical studies in Poona, he obtained a Masters in Theology (M. Th.) from Dharmaram College, Bangalore, and after the ordination he did his Doctorate in Social Sciences from the University of Poona. He is proficient in Malayalam, English and Hindi.
