Asian bishops mourn death of former official from India

Dec 03, 2021

By Jose Kavi
The Catholic Church in Asia mourned the death of an Indian priest who, it says, played a significant role in evangelisation and transformed the lives of many in the region.

Fr Jacob Theckanath, a former executive secretary of the Office of Evangelisation under the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), died on November 28. The priest of the Indian Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar was 79.

A December 1 message from FABC assistant secretary general Maryknoll, Fr William LaRousse, based in Hong Kong, noted that Fr Theckanath served as the secretary of the FABC Office of Evangelisation (OE) from 2007 to 2016.

Fr Theckanath went to the FABC after serving as the third director of the National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre for ten years from 1991. The Catholic bishops in India set up the centre in 1967, after the Second Vatican Council, to promote the renewal of the Church in an Indian context. It now serves India’s three Ritual Churches – Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara.

Fr Theckanath “was very much involved in the field of evangelisation, Bible and liturgy, The highlights of his dedicated work were evident from the successful OE programmes which he organised over the years. Through these seminars and consultations, (Fr Theckanat) touched and transformed the lives of many, playing an important role in evangelisation in Asia,” pointed out Fr LaRousse. --Matters India