Kuriakose Elias Chavara
1805-1871 19th century Feast day: January 3
Prayer that takes flesh in education and the life of families.
Who was Kuriakose Elias Chavara?
A priest of Kerala's Syro-Malabar tradition, he founded the first Indian men's religious congregation and a women's one, opened schools welcoming all castes, and launched a printing press. A tireless reformer of the Church of Saint Thomas, he joined contemplation to a very concrete sense of education and family. His Testament of a Loving Father still counsels the Christian homes of India.
In their own words
The good or evil of a whole family depends on the piety or impiety of its members.
Let no day end without your having done at least one good deed.