Indian Capuchin donates body for medical studies

Father Xavier Vadakkekara, a former editor of the Catholic newsweekly Indian Currents, was 72

Mar 19, 2025

NEW DELHI: The Capuchin Catholic religious order in India has donated the body of a member priest for medical research and studies, following the rare wish of the dead priest.

Capuchin Father Xavier Vadakkekara, a former editor of the Catholic newsweekly Indian Currents, died in New Delhi at 72 on March 16.

His body was handed over to New Delhi’s government-run All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences on March 18 “as per his last wish,” said Father Suresh Mathew, a confrere of the diseased priest.

The last wish of Vadakkekara “reflects in his final act of generosity and lifelong commitment to serving humanity,” Mathew told  UCA News March 19.

Vadakkekara, who has been under treatment for partial blindness and had a complicated medical history for more than two decades, died at Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi while undergoing "treatment for acute respiratory insufficiency,” said an official statement from Capuchin order.

Mathew, also a former editor of Indian Currents, remembered Vadakkekara as “a veteran journalist and editor known for his objectivity and great acumen for news.”

He credited his senior confrere for mentoring and encouraging many journalists to work in various Indian media.

“He left an indelible mark on the Catholic media landscape in India,” Mathew added.

People from different walks of life joined on March 18 to pay their tributes and the funeral prayers before the body was taken away.

Bishop Bhaskar Yeshuraj of Meerut Diocese presided over the funeral Mass attended by family members and Church officials in Ghaziabad, just outside the eastern border of Delhi

Bishop Henry D’Souza of Bellary, chairman of the Office of Social Communication under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, expressed his deep sorrow at Vadakkekara's demise.

“He was a committed media person who was people-friendly and compassionate. In his death the Church in India has lost an excellent media person with Christian values,” D’Souza said.

Some priests appreciated the priest donating his body.

“It is not generally expected of a priest or layperson to donate body after death though there is no legal ban from within the Church,” said a Catholic priest based in Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

“It is a laudable example that the future generations can emulate,” the priest who did not want to be named told UCA News on March 19.

Vadakkekara, born in southern Kerala state, was ordained a priest in 1980. He earned his doctorate in the Philippines and served as a professor of communication in Andhra Pradesh, southern India.

In 1993, he moved to northern India and established Media House, a publishing house on the outskirts of New Delhi.

He also played a pivotal role in establishing an institution dedicated to adult and skill-based education. Notably, it was the first institution the Catholic Church ran for the Indian government.

Recognizing the growing importance of digital literacy, he founded the Media Institute of Training and Technology in Suryanagar during the 1990s, focusing primarily on computer education.

He also contributed to the establishment of the Assisi Institute of Training and Technology in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. This institute, which is affiliated with Hisar University in Haryana, offers a master’s program in communication and journalism.--ucanews.com