This declaration constitutes a formal and cordial expression of the Roman Pontiff in response to the request for canonical confirmation of the new Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly by the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church:
LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
OF CONFIRMATION OF THE CANONICAL ELECTION OF THE
MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF ERNAKULAM-ANGAMALY
OF THE SYRO-MALABARS
Mar Raphael Thattil Major
Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly
I have received the letter with which, according to canon 153 §2 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, you petitioned the Roman Pontiff to confirm your canonical election by the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church as Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Father and Head of this beloved Church sui iuris.
Please know that I willingly grant the confirmation you have requested and express my fraternal good wishes in Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. I pray that, after the example of your venerable predecessors, you may strive to offer a generous and fruitful pastoral ministry to the flock now entrusted to your care. I likewise urge you especially to remember the poor and those most in need. May the Holy Spirit foster the unity, fidelity and mission of the Syro-Malabar Church, so that it may grow and flourish under your paternal guidance.
In extending my cordial greetings to the Brother Members of the Synod, to the clergy, men and women religious, seminarians and candidates for consecrated life, and to the lay faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church, I invoke the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, the Holy Patriarch Saint Joseph and the Apostle Saint Thomas. To all of you, I impart my Blessing, as I assure you of my spiritual closeness and ask that you, please, pray for me.
Rome, from Saint John Lateran, 9 January 2024
FRANCIS
