Father John Panamthottathil of the Order of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate has been announced as the new bishop of St. Thomas Diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in Melbourne, Australia.
The announcement came at the end of the six-day meeting of the Synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church here on Saturday. The announcement of the new bishop was made in Rome and at the headquarters of the Syro-Malabar Church at Kakkanad on Saturday, said an official communication.
Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry and the outgoing bishop of Melbourne Bosco Puthur congratulated the bishop-elect.
Father Panamthottathil was born in Thalassery in 1966. He joined the CMI order and took the first vows in 1986 and made his perpetual profession in 1994, the communication added.
He was the provincial of the St. Thomas province of the CMI in Kozhikode between 2008 and 2014. He has also served in the Brisbane Diocese in Australia. He had been the superior at St. Elias’ religious house at Mananthavady since 2021.
