Archbishop of Varapuzha reminisces Pope Leo XIV's Kerala visits
Going back in time by over two decades, the Archbishop of Varapuzha Joseph Kalathiparambil reminisced the new Pope Leo XIV's Kerala visits in 2004 and 2006.
While in Kerala, he stood out by opting for a simple lifestyle, empathising much with the poor and the marginalised and by his missionary zeal. Hence, I hope his elevation as the Pope will be as successful as that of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, 2025. The Archdiocese of Varapuzha wishes him heartfelt and prayerful regards, the Archbishop told mediapersons here on Friday. As head of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA), also known as the Augustinian Order, he did commendable mission work, including in Latin America, he said.
He narrated how the new Pope visited Augustinian priests in Kerala and also dedicated priests when Daniel Acharuparambil was the Varapuzha Archbishop in 2004, at St. Francis Church in Kaloor. Furthermore, he visited the archdiocesan headquarters in 2006. Churches under the archdiocese will offer special prayers when he assumes charge as the Pope, the Archbishop said.
On peace
On the mounting threats to peace in many countries, he commemorated late Pope Francis as one who strove for global peace. He directly met global leaders and also communicated with them over phone to end violence. Pope Leo too will hopefully do the same. The ongoing India-Pakistan standoff too can be overcome by persistent efforts and through prayers. Weapons are meant for destruction and hence must give way to peace efforts.
To a question on why late Pope Francis did not visit India, the Archbishop said he was very keen to visit India. But it did not work out. He would have come if he had been welcomed officially, I presume, he added.
In the meantime, Fr. Wilson Injarapu, the Vicar Superior of the Vicariate of India within the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA), told The Hindu that he had met the new Pope in February at a meeting in Rome. Having visited our 'communities' in India and also having stayed at the Provincial House in Aluva more than once, he spoke of the natural beauty that Kerala has and of the congregations, Fr. Injarapu said.
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Whether he can change the financial culture of the Holy See, consolidate reforms Pope Francis started and convince donors that their money is going to good use is another matter. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Promoções imperdíveis de voos baratos Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo Leo already has one thing going for him: his American-ness. US donors have long been the economic life support system of the Holy See, financing everything from papal charity projects abroad to restorations of St. Peter's Basilica at home. Leo's election as the first American pope has sent a jolt of excitement through US. Catholics, some of whom had soured on donating to the Vatican after years of unrelenting stories of mismanagement, corruption and scandal, according to interviews with top Catholic fundraisers, philanthropists and church management experts. 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With help from the late Australian Cardinal George Pell , Francis created an economy ministry and council made up of clergy and lay experts to supervise Vatican finances, and he wrestled the Italian-dominated bureaucracy into conforming to international accounting and budgetary standards. He authorized a landmark, if deeply problematic, corruption trial over a botched London property investment that convicted a once-powerful Italian cardinal. And he punished the Vatican's Secretariat of State that had allowed the London deal to go through by stripping it of its ability to manage its own assets. But Francis left unfinished business and his overall record, at least according to some in the donor community, is less than positive. Critics cite Pell's frustrated reform efforts and the firing of the Holy See's first-ever auditor general, who says he was ousted because he had uncovered too much financial wrongdoing. 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The very same Secretariat of State that Francis had punished for losing tens of millions of euros in the scandalous London property deal somehow ended up heading up a new papal fundraising commission that was announced while Francis was in the hospital. According to its founding charter and statutes, the commission is led by the Secretariat of State's assessor, is composed entirely of Italian Vatican officials with no professional fundraising expertise and has no required external financial oversight. To some Vatican watchers, the commission smacks of the Italian-led Secretariat of State taking advantage of a sick pope to announce a new flow of unchecked donations into its coffers after its 600 million euro ($684 million) sovereign wealth fund was taken away and given to another office to manage as punishment for the London fiasco. "There are no Americans on the commission. I think it would be good if there were representatives of Europe and Asia and Africa and the United States on the commission," said Ward Fitzgerald, president of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation . It is made up of wealthy American Catholics that since 1990 has provided over $250 million (219 million euros) in grants and scholarships to the pope's global charitable initiatives. Fitzgerald, who spent his career in real estate private equity, said American donors - especially the younger generation - expect transparency and accountability from recipients of their money, and know they can find non-Vatican Catholic charities that meet those expectations. "We would expect transparency before we would start to solve the problem," he said. That said, Fitzgerald said he hadn't seen any significant let-up in donor willingness to fund the Papal Foundation's project-specific donations during the Francis pontificate. Indeed, U.S. donations to the Vatican overall have remained more or less consistent even as other countries' offerings declined, with U.S. bishops and individual Catholics contributing more than any other country in the two main channels to donate to papal causes. A head for numbers and background fundraising Francis moved Prevost to take over the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014. Residents and fellow priests say he consistently rallied funds, food and other life-saving goods for the neediest - experience that suggests he knows well how to raise money when times are tight and how to spend wisely. He bolstered the local Caritas charity in Chiclayo, with parishes creating food banks that worked with local businesses to distribute donated food, said the Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, a diocesan spokesperson. In 2019, Prevost inaugurated a shelter on the outskirts of Chiclayo, Villa San Vicente de Paul, to house desperate Venezuelan migrants who had fled their country's economic crisis. The migrants remember him still, not only for helping give them and their children shelter, but for bringing live chickens obtained from a donor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prevost launched a campaign to raise funds to build two oxygen plants to provide hard-hit residents with life-saving oxygen. In 2023, when massive rains flooded the region, he personally brought food to the flood-struck zone. Within hours of his May 8 election, videos went viral on social media of Prevost, wearing rubber boots and standing in a flooded street, pitching a solidarity campaign, "Peru Give a Hand," to raise money for flood victims. The Rev. Jorge Millan, who lived with Prevost and eight other priests for nearly a decade in Chiclayo, said he had a "mathematical" mentality and knew how to get the job done. Prevost would always be on the lookout for used cars to buy for use around the diocese, Millan said, noting that the bishop often had to drive long distances to reach all of his flock or get to Lima, the capital. Prevost liked to fix them up himself, and if he didn't know what to do, "he'd look up solutions on YouTube and very often he'd find them," Millan told The Associated Press. Before going to Peru, Prevost served two terms as prior general, or superior, of the global Augustinian order. While the order's local provinces are financially independent, Prevost was responsible for reviewing their balance sheets and oversaw the budgeting and investment strategy of the order's headquarters in Rome, said the Rev. Franz Klein, the order's Rome-based economist who worked with Prevost. The Augustinian campus sits on prime real estate just outside St. Peter's Square and supplements revenue by renting out its picturesque terrace to media organizations (including the AP) for major Vatican events, including the conclave that elected Leo pope. But even Prevost saw the need for better fundraising, especially to help out poorer provinces. Toward the end of his 12-year term and with his support, a committee proposed creation of a foundation, Augustinians in the World. At the end of 2023, it had 994,000 euros ($1.13 million) in assets and was helping fund self-sustaining projects across Africa, including a center to rehabilitate former child soldiers in Congo. "He has a very good interest and also a very good feeling for numbers," Klein said. "I have no worry about the finances of the Vatican in these years because he is very, very clever."
