Former Thrissur Archbishop Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy passes away

THRISSUR: Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy, former Archbishop of Thrissur Archdiocese, has passed away at the age of 95. He had been undergoing treatment at Jubilee Mission Medical College Hospital for the past few days due to ill health. The funeral will be held later.

He had served as the Archbishop of Thrissur Archdiocese, the first Bishop of Mananthavady Diocese, and later as the Bishop of Thamarassery Diocese. Since 2007, he had been leading a retired life at the Minor Seminary in Kachery. He was also the founding chairman of Jeevan TV.

Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy served twice as the Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI). He was the main organiser of the historic CBCI meeting held in 2004 at Marymatha Seminary in Thrissur. He became the Archbishop of Thrissur in 1997 and held the post for ten years. Earlier, he served for 22 years as the Bishop of Mananthavady Diocese.

He was born on December 13, 1930, as the fourth son of Kurian and Rosa, farmers from Pala in Kottayam district. Later, the family moved to Thiruvambady in Kozhikode.