Bishop Mathew Makil Elevated to Rank of Venerable by Pope Leo XIV

WITHIN a week of being inaugurated as the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has authorised the promulgation of decrees for elevating Indian bishop Mathew Makil, Colombian nun Agnese Arango Velasquez and Spanish bishop Alessandro Labaka Ugarte to the rank of Venerables.

- ANU KURUVILLA @ Kochi

The decree was published on Thursday by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the dicastery.

Mar Makil was declared a Servant of God in 2009. He was known as the peacemaker, who worked to bring amity between the "northerners" (who considered themselves descendants of the community founded by St Thomas) and the "southerners" (who saw themselves as successors of Mesopotamian migrants).

His efforts culminated in a proposal submitted to the Holy See in 1911 to divide the vicariate of Changanacherry into two distinct vicariates: One for the "southerners" and one for the "northerners".