Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly

Family Kathanar was born as Kunjuvaru on 8 August 1876 to Payyappilly Lonan and Kunjumariam in the Palakkappilly branch of Payyappilly Nasrani family at Perumanoor, Thevara. Payyappilly is an ancient Saint Thomas Christian family in India, baptized by Thomas the Apostle in the first century. The word Payyappilly, translated as "beautiful building" or "beautiful house", is derived from the Syriac ܦܐܝܐ Payya "beautiful, radiant" and the Malayalam word പിള്ളി Pilly, a variant of പള്ളി Pally, "church, building". Mary Celine Payyappilly is another Servant of God from the Payyappilly family.

Life

Payyappilly was educated in the parish school at Perumanoor and at St. Albert's School, Ernakulam. He received his religious training from the Mangalapuzha Seminary at Puthenpally and the Papal Seminary at Kandy, Sri Lanka. He was ordained a priest on 21 December 1907 and was known as Payyappilly Varghese Kathanar. He learned the Syriac language under the guidance of Aloysius Pazheparambil. He also purchased of land in M. C. Road for constructing St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Meenkunnam.

He was manager of St. Mary's High School, Aluva, Travancore, between 1913–1920 and 1922–1929.

Payyappilly served as a member of the Diocesan Council, as Director of Apostolic Union as well as Priests' Provident Fund. He was a good mediator and people approached him seeking solutions to their problems. and turned St. Mary's High School into a shelter for the suffering people and brought food for them in a hired boat.

Payyappilly fell ill in September 1929 and eventually was hospitalised. He died of typhoid fever on 5 October 1929 and was buried in St. John Nepumsian Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Konthuruthy. This organisation was intended to continue what he saw as Christ's redemptive mission among the poor. He found abandoned people, brought them to the shelter of the Home for the Aged and nursed them. The Sisters of the Destitute were originally named "Little Sisters of the Poor" but in 1933 the name was changed to Sisters of the Destitute in order not to be confused with another congregation having the same name. , and the Archdiocesan Tribunal was closed in November 2012. His case was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Rome, and on 14 April 2018 Pope Francis declared him venerable.

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