Major Archbishop's House,
Pattom, Trivandrum-695 004, India
Phone: +91 471-2541642, 2541643, 2540446
Fax :+91 471-2541635
Email:
[email protected],
[email protected]
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal was born on June 15, 1959 at Mukkoor, in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala as Isaac Thottunkal. After schooling, he attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a bachelor degree in philosophy from St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. He received a bachelor degree in Theology from the Papal Seminary, Pune, which he attended from 1983 to 1986. He was ordained priest on June 11, 1986. He studied theology in Dharmaram College, Bangalore, from 1986 to 1989. Cardinal Thottunkal took his doctorate in ecumenical theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, in 1997. On his return from Rome, he became the proto syncellus of the eparchy of Bathery.
Pope John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop of Trivandrum and apostolic visitor for the faithful residing in North America and Europe on June 18, 2001. He was ordained bishop on Aug. 15. 2001, assuming the name Isaac Mar Cleemis.
The Holy See appointed him as sixth bishop of the eparchy of Thiruvalla on Sept. 11, 2003. He was installed on June 10, 2006.
Mar Cleemis was elected the second major archbishop and catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on Feb. 9, 2007. Baselios Cleemis was enthroned the second major archbishop-catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on March 5, 2007 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Pattom.