Catholic Bishop of Vellore passes away

Following the coronavirus-related lockdown in force, the body, which was brought to Vellore, has been placed in a private mortuary as the diocesan officials await the response of Vellore Collector A Shnmuga Sundaram to their request for a funeral mass, which will in all probability be attended not only by locals but also by bishops attached to the CBCI (Catholic Bishops Conference of India).

Bishop Soundararaju Periyanayagam was born on June 6, 1949, at Kolappalur in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district. After his school studies, he joined the Congregation of Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) and made his first profession on May 24, 1970. He was ordained priest on June 25, 1983, at Manchester, England. He was appointed the sixth Bishop of Vellore Diocese, Tamil Nadu, on July 11, 2006 and ordained on 24 August 2006.

He holds BA in economics from Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, MA in economics from Loyola College, Chennai, MA in theology from Ushaw College, Durham University, UK and a Doctorate in Economics from St Joseph College, Tiruchy.

He was the Professor and Vice Principal (1983-1988, 1991-1994), Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur; Principal (1994-2000), Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, Rector and parish priest (2001-2004), St Lourdes’ Shrine, Perambur, Chennai, Rector (2004-2006), Don Bosco, Gandhinagar, Vellore. He was a priest for 36 years and a Bishop for 13 years.