St. Thomas Pastoral Centre
16, Ayanavaram Road,
Chennai - 600 023.
Phone; 044-2644 3803
A Brief History
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, which comes under the Chaldean Liturgical family, is one of the twenty-two
churches of Catholic Communion. The Chennai Syro-Malabar Mission was established in 1983 and it
was entrusted to Mar James Pazhayattil, the Bishop of Irinjalakuda by the Syro-Malabar Archiepiscopal
Synod.
This Mission is rooted in the emphasis of II Vatican Council that and individual church should
maintain her cultural and ecclesial identity. Therefore the first and important task of this mission was to
look after the pastoral needs of Syro-Malabar Catholics in Chennai. Rev. Fr. Jose Palatty was appointed
as the first Chaplain by the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, Most Rev. Dr. R. Arulappa.
At present
there are around 5000 families in the mission. 16 priests and about 80 Sisters support the Mission
through their spiritual leadership. The Mission has already consecrated eight Churches. The Pastoral
Centre at Ayanavaram co-ordinates at programs of the Chennai Mission. There are three religious
houses for men congregations and eight religious houses for Sisters. The Fathers and Sisters run
eight Schools, two Special Schools, a Cancer hospice, a Clinic, a Hostel and two Retreat centres.