Pope
His Holiness Pope Francis I
Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 2013. Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since Gregory III, a Syrian who reigned in the 8th century. Francis maintains the traditional views of the Church regarding abortion and clerical celibacy. He is known for personal humility, and commitment to social justice. A simple lifestyle contributed to his reputation for humility. He was known to be devoted to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and he enclosed a small picture of her. In the letters he wrote, he called her "a great missionary saint".
Cardinal
Rt.Rev. George Alencherry
Rt. Rev. George Alencherry is the Major Archbishop (Head) of the Syro-Malabar Church and is also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. The title of Major Archbishop is essentially equivalent to that of a patriarch.[1] He was elected by the Holy Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church in 2011 to succeed Varkey Vithayathil (1999 - 2011). He was created a cardinal on 18 February 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. He was the first bishop of Thuckalay from 1997 to 2011 before his enthronement as the Major Archbishop. He is also the current president of Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), which is the general conference for the bishops of the Latin, Malankara Catholic and Syro-Malabar Catholic hierarchies of Kerala, and the Chairman of the Inter-church Council of Kerala.
Bishop
Rt.Rev. Sebastian Adayanthrath
Mar Sebastian Adayantharath was born on 5 April 1957 of Ouseph Chacko and Thresiamma at Vaikom, Kerala. He had his school education at St Joseph's LP School and St Theresa's High School, Vaikom from 1963 to 1973. He joined the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly on 1 July 1973. Three years later he was sent to the Papal Seminary, Pune where he did his seminary studies from 1976 to 1983 and was ordained priest on 18 December 1983 by Bishop Mar Sebastian Mankuzhikary at St Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. After his ordination, Fr. Adayantharath took a Master's Degree in Theology from Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune. He was appointed as the Bishop of Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Mandya by the Holy Synod of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Pope Francis on 30 August 2019.