Thottunkal, 53, is Auxiliary Bishop for Syro-Malankarites residing in US.
Bureau Report
WASHINGTON, DC: The Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, has the distinction of being the youngest cardinal taking part in the conclave at Vatican City to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
Also known as Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos, Thottunkal was elevated to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican on 24 November 2012. At the moment of his elevation, he was the youngest member of the College of Cardinals. He is the first cardinal of the Syro-Malankar rite.
On January 31, 2013, Thottunkal was named member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, who turned 80 after Benedict abdicated, is the conclave’s oldest cardinal elector. The electors’ average age is 72. Since 1975, cardinals over 80 have been excluded from voting in papal conclaves.
Thottunkal attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a B.Phil. degree from St. Joseph’s Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva where he attended from 1979 to 1982. He received a B.Th. degree from the Papal Seminary, Pune where he attended from 1983 to 1986.
Thottunkal was ordained a priest on June 11, 1986. He studied for the Master of Theology in Dharmaram College, Bangalore where he attended from 1986 to 1989. Thottunkal took his Doctorate in Ecumenical Theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome in 1997.
On his return from Rome he became the Vicar General (Proto Syncellus) of the Eparchy of Bathery. Pope John Paul II nominated Thottunkal as Apostolic Visitor and the Auxiliary Bishop of Trivandrum in 2001 for the Syro-Malankarites residing in North America and Europe. He was consecrated at Tirumoolapuram, Tiruvalla, assuming the name Isaac Mar Cleemis.