Today, January 3, is the memorial of Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara.
Co-founder of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) and the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC).
The Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest Kuriakose Elias was born in 1805 in what is now Kerala, India. He studied with a Hindu teacher until age 10, and learned a variety of languages and regional dialects. He entered the seminary in 1818 and was ordained in 1829. He became the co-founder and first prior-general of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.
The main work of the Congregation is education aiming at the intellectual, social, economic, moral and spiritual advancement of people, especially women and children. The congregation flourishes today in eight countries with almost 5,000 members.
Kuriakose made his religious profession in the Congregation in 1855. He served as a humble vicar-general for the Syro-Malabar church in 1861. He defended ecclesial unity which was threatened by schism by the consecration of Nestorian bishops in his area and worked to renew the faith in Malabar. He also became co-founder of the Congregation of Mother of Carmel in 1866.
People loved and revered him, recognizing him as a man of prayer with a devotion to the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary.
In his honor, a variety of mango in Kerala called Prior Mango or Priormavu is named after him. In his monastery in Mannanam, Kuriakose took care of a mango tree. He gave away the seedlings to other monasteries and convents. These plants became abundant and the mangoes became premium varieties.
He died of natural causes at age 65 in 1871. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1986. He was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014.