Mar Joseph Powathil, the former Archbishop of Changanacherry Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away today at 1.25 pm. He was 92. He has been hospitalized due to old-age health problems.
The funeral service of the archbishop emeritus will be held at St. Mary’s Metropolitan Church on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
He became the Metropolitan Archbishop of Changanassery Archdiocese in 1985. He was the succeeding bishop of Mar Antony Padiyara. Prior to that, he was the Bishop of Kanjirapally Diocese since his ordination in 1977 there.
In late 2006, he stepped down from the role of Changanasery Archbishop and since then he had been the Metropolitan Emeritus.
He was known for requirements in matters regarding the affairs relating to the Catholic Church. The Archbishop was the voice of farmers and played a vital role in establishing development committees in Malanadu, Peerumade and Kuttanad. He is the first bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church to be ordained thus by Pope Paul VI and his tenure of the priesthood and pastoral service was under five Popes.