Fr. Xavier Pulparambil C.M.I (1888 – 1967)

Founder of Edamanakalathy Kudumbayogam

Fr.Xavier Pulparambil CMI ( 1888-1967), Our Founder and Patron is a venerated missionary of the high range catholics, a renowned retreat preacher, an admired member of the C.M.I congregation and an illustrious son of Edamanakalathy Kudumbam.

A special mention is needed about the Malanadu Missionary, Xavier Pulparambil(1868-1963) known as the Randamshaviriyar (Second Xavier) who toiled day and night of many years for the pastoral, social and material development of the people of Highrange. He was not only the veteran retreat preacher but also an organizer who could establish move than 12 churches coordinating poor settlers.

CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION

When Ouseph was 2 and a half years old, his father passed away following a malaria attack, and thereafter he was nurtured and brought up by his mother Eliamma. Ouseph had his earlier school education at Muthalakkodam and Vazhakulam. In 1902, at the age of 14, he reached Mannanam to start his studies at the St. Ephrem’s School. During his studies at Mannaanam, he was under the constant influence of the edifying examples and counseling of the priests of the CMI Ashram of Mannaanam, (which is the mother house of the all the CMI Ashrams in and outside Kerala), and a desire started sprouting in the heart of young Ouseph to become am priest like one of them.
As a result of such a strong desire, in 1904 Ouseph became a member of the House of Aspirants under the CMI ashram. Five year later, in September 1909, he started his priestly training at the CMI formation house called Novitiate at Ambazhakkaattu, and giving up his baptismal name of Ouseph, adopted the new name of Xavier. His further studies (comprising of courses in Cyriac, Latin, Philosophy, Theology, and Canon Law) in the Seminaries at Ambazhakkaattu, Koonammaavu, and Mutholi. After ten years of priestly study, he was ordained Priest on 22nd December 1919 at the Ashram church in Maannanam.

PRIESTLY SERVICE

Following his priestly ordination, Fr. Xavier had his priestly ministry in the CMI Ashrams in places such as Thevara, Mutholi, Vazhakulam, Aluva, Manappuram, Chethipuzha, Elthuruthu, Kurinad, and Poonjar. Working for rural development and starting of schools for the education of children were of special interest to Fr. Xavier. He travelled all along the State of Kerala. During this period, he conducted 650 retreats for the spiritual renovation of the believers in different parishes. In addition, he also engaged in pastoral activities such as settling disputes in families, settling disputes among families, salvaging people from living in sinful ways and leading them to living in righteous ways, etc. Wherever he conducted retreats, he also made it a practice to visit houses to offer timely conuselling for spiritual advancement. Thus Fr. Xavier initiated an innovative way of strengthening the Christian faith and faith-based life of the people in their families. This was a new form of family apostolate started by Fr. Xavier for the first time in the Kerala Church. In the field of retreats too, he was very innovative due to his practices of meeting each of the persons attending his retreats and offering them spiritual and moral boosting conuselling at a personal level.

MISSION WORK

For Fr. Xavier, priesthood was an integral part of a spiritually and physically dedicated life. His life was characterized by humility and simplicity. When he was a member of the ashram at Poonjar, he was awaken to a “ vocation within vocation” to do missionary work of a special kind among the Christian migrants to the remote areas of the High Ranges of the present Idukki district. There was no priest to look after the spiritual needs of those people who had migrated to these remote areas from the diocese of Changanacherry. For the members of the catholic church, it is unthinkable to live without the services of a church, holy mass and community prayers. Bishop Mar Mathew Kavukaattu realized the need for sending priests to meet the spiritual needs of the new settlers of the High Ranges. He looked for priests who were willing to sacrifice comforts, to suffer the cold climate and inconveniences of wilderness and even to starve for the sake of the believers. In this context, he sought the help of the 63 year old Fr. Xavier whom he considered as good leader for such an adventure. On 1^st June, 1952, Fr. Xavier left the Poonjar ashram, venturing upon his new and extraordinary missionary work. Reaching the place of Vandanmedu, he converted an old shed into a church, and assumed responsibility of being the parish priest there. It was the opening of a new chapter in the missionary work among the new settlers of believers in the remote areas of the High Ranges.

Eventually Fr. Xavier became a historical hero, as an illustrious example of dedicated life, loving and serving the adventurous people who left their homes and migrated in to the remote areas of High ranges in search of new opportunities for a better life and prosperity, and built the legend of being a missionary who traveled alone through thick forests, ignoring the threats of horrid rains, wild animals, saying mass on the corridors of petty shops and in sheds with thatched roofs, and meeting all other spiritual needs of the Catholic believers. To these adventurous and hardworking people, Fr. Xavier, a chronic bronchitis patient, with a bag on the shoulder and a twisted walking stick in the hand, fearlessly traversing through the cardamom estates and thick forests wherein wild elephants moved frequently, was an energetic and affectionate father, relative and benefactor.

Fr. Xavier established centres of community prayer in places such as Vandanmedu, Mlaamala, , Anakkara, Chembalam, Anavilaasam, Nedunkandam, Nazraanipuram, Keerikkara, Mundiyeruma, Kochara, and Nettithozhu , where he offered mass, distributed holy communion, and gave spiritual food to the faithful followers of the Catholic Church. Thus he became a friend and spiritual guide to the farmers who, under the depressing conditions of the post second world war times, sought new opportunities in the forest regions of the High Ranges. The settlers of these colonies still remember with fond gratitude this missionary, who from 1952 to 1957, spiritually nurtured the first generation settlers of the High ranges, with the fervor of St. Paul and the simplicity of St. Francis Assissi.

Fr. Xavier Pulparambil is fondly called as the Randamshaviriyar (Second Xavier) and ‘Malanadinte Missionary’ (Missionary of Malanadu), as he toiled day and night of many years for the pastoral, social and material development of the people of Highrange.

LATER LIFE

After five years of extremely hard missionary work, Fr. Xavier, who had by now become a very sick person, returned to the CMI Ashram in Vazhakulam. On Sunday, 5th March 1967 he breathed his last. His body was buried in the cemetery of the CMI monastery of Vazhakulam.
The interval between his return to the Vazhakulam Monastery in 1957 and his death in 1967, Fr. Xavier utilised for doing research on the roots and evolution of his ancestral family of the Edamana Kalathy Kudumbam, visiting the concerned places and resourceful persons for gathering information for writing his last book titled Edamana Kudumbam and the Edamana Kurissu, (published in 1967), and for organizing the Edamana Kalathy Kudumbayogam ( the first meeting of which was held in 1967 in the ancient Edamana Kalathy Tharavad in Vazhakulam).
Perpetuating the memory of Fr. Xavier are the eleven spiritual books he wrote for energizing the spiritual life of Catholic families, the youth and the children, as well as the eleven parishes that he had established in the places mentioned below.