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| Biography
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Fr. Ignatius Vellaringattu was one of the earliest of the young men from Kerala to feel the call of the Lord to come to work in the Patna Mission of the Society of Jesus. Born in Palai on 21st Feb., 1909, he did his early schooling there and went first to Trichur and then on to Trichinapoly for his college studies. He entered the Novitiate at Shembaganur on 12th August, 1932 and completed it at St. Stanislaus, Sitagarha, Hazaribagh. After his juniorate, he returned to Shembaganur for philosophy in 1936. When he finished his philosophical studies, he went to Khrist Raja High School, Bettiah, for a period of regency and then on to Kurseong for theology, where he was ordained on 21st Nov., 1943. Tertianship was in Kodaikanal, 1945-1946. Fr. Ignatius was basically a schoolman and he spent several years teaching and guiding the youth of Bihar. After a short spell in Churhari, he moved to Ara for a year and then to Khrist Raja, Bettiah, where he was a teacher and then headmaster from 1948 to 1955. While teaching at Khrist Raja, he completed his M.A. in Hindi at the Patna University. He was then called back to Ara, where he was the Headmaster of the Catholic High School from 1955-1968 and again in 1970. Fr. Ignatius’ brother, Msg. Jacob Vellaringattu, had founded and was the guiding figure of St. Joseph’s Mission Home in Palai, a source of many missionary vocations for the Catholic Church of North India.
Fr. Ignatius went to Palai to help Msgr. In his work in 1969 and then again 1971-1981. In 1982 he returned once again to the North and worked in the Mission Middle School and in the parish in Bettiah until 1988. There was a call again for a spiritual father for the Mission Home, so Fr. Ignatius went to Palai once again in 1988. While he was there the doctors diagnosed him have terminal prostate cancer. All possible care was given to him but it was impossible to do any thing. Fr. Ignatius wanted to die in Patna, since he was basically a missionary and felt he should be with the people to whom he had given the message of the Kingdom for so many years. He returned to Patna in early 1990 to await the call of the Lord that came in the evening of 18th May, 1990 at 7 p.m. He was buried in Patna itself
In the last 15 years Fr. Ignatius was very busy translating several books and brochures into Hindi because he recognized the need for spiritual books in Hindi for the Jesuits. Let us pray that many other budding authors and translators will receive inspiration from the work he has done for humanity. | |
