People in thousands paid homage to Fr. Gabriel Chiramel, educationist, scholar, and social reformer, who died here on Thursday.
As a priest with the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, Fr. Gabriel made his mark in the fields of education, health, social welfare, and arts.
Born in 1914 at Manaloor in Thrissur district, he was the first Catholic priest to be honoured with a Padma award. He founded many institutions, including the Amala Cancer Centre, Christ College, Irinjalakuda, and St. Joseph’s College, Irinjalakuda.
People from various walks of life reached Amala Medical College Hospital to pay homage to Fr. Gabriel.
He has a rich list of disciples, including former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan, former Finance Minister K.M. Mani, film directors Kamal, T.V. Chandran, and playback singer P. Jayachandran.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar praised the contributions of Fr. Gabriel to the education and health sectors. “Though a man of achievements, his modesty was remarkable. He was active even in his 103th year. His death is a huge loss to society,” he said.
His funeral will be held at Christ Chapel, Irinjalakuda, on Saturday. Various organisations too paid homage to him.
