Saminini Arulappa

Archbishop Samineni Arulappa (28 August 1924 – 13 February 2005), also known as S. Arulappa, was an Indian Catholic clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Hyderabad from December 1971 through January 2000. The youngest priest to be consecrated to such a high office, he was also the longest-serving Catholic archbishop in India. He was also the first archbishop who had the honour of being consecrated by Pope Paul VI in Rome.

"Love and Serve" was his motto.

Early years Arulappa was born on 28 August 1924 in a Kamma family to Rajamma and Chinnaiah in Kilacheri in present-day Tamil Nadu, then British India. He was the youngest born in a family of four sisters, two of whom are nuns, and two brothers. He was brought up in an atmosphere of strict discipline by his mother, who wanted to see her only son become a priest. The Archbishop reminisced that his mother looked forward to the day when she could see him as a priest, but both his parents died before he was ordained a priest. He was supported by his brother Samineni Anthaiah. The Papal Seminary awarded Arulappa licentiate degrees in philosophy and theology (L. Ph. & L. Th.) on successfully completing his studies there.

Ordination and professorship Arulappa was ordained a priest on 6 May 1950 by Bishop Ignatius Glennie, S.J., the then Bishop of Trincomalee.

He joined the faculty of the Archdiocesan Minor & Major Seminaries in Madras and taught Latin and philosophy , besides being the rector of the seminary.

Archbishopric Archdiocese of Hyderabad

Background G. Joseph Mark was the fifth bishop of Hyderabad and later became archbishop when the diocese of Hyderabad was elevated to an archdiocese on 19 September 1953.

In 1977, he shared a dais with the global evangelist Rev. Dr. Billy Graham and his associate Rev. Dr. Akbar Abdul Haqq during their conventions in Secunderabad. Together, they approached the three bishops resident in Hyderabad, namely, Archbishop S. Arulappa, Bishop Victor Premasagar (CSI Bishop-in-Medak), and Bishop Elia Peter (Methodist Bishop of Hyderabad Regional Conference) who gave their nod, and thus was born the United Christmas Celebrations, a yearly event to which either the Governor or Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh are invited with participation by all the churches of Hyderabad. Sri L. K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister of India:

Martin Michael and James Sylvester of the Catholic Association of Hyderabad Quoted in B. K. Kiran's Education in Human Values for the Twenty-first Century, a NCERT publication

Ordination of women The eminent Catholic scholar and theologian Father John Wijngaards, MHM, L.S.S. (Rome), D. Th. (Rome) served as a lecturer in St. John's Regional Seminary, Hyderabad from 1964-1976 during the archbishopric of Arulappa. He espoused the cause of women priests.

Although Archbishop Arulappa expressed his respect for women, he remained faithful to the stance taken by Rome regarding women's ordination. Speaking at the plenary of the Association of Theologically Trained Women of India (ATTWI), held at the Auditorium of Stanley Girls High School, Chapel Road, Hyderabad, in 1999, he said that women in the Catholic Church were given duties like Bible reading, offering communion, etc., and were also holding independent positions in religious orders and managing institutions.

Once, while addressing the Catholic Family Movement, he jocularly remarked that "God created man and rested. He created woman and neither God or man rested. That is the problem of all married people." In accordance with his wishes stated in a will, he was buried in the altar in St. Mary's Church, Secunderabad, on 14 February 2005.