Not even the gloomy and rainy monsoon weather could dampen the colorful celebrations at St. Mary’s Syro-Malabar Cathedral Basilica during the priestly ordination on 16th August, 2025, of Father Jaison Joseph Cheruvuparampil, SJ, and an alumnus of Hekima Jesuit School of Theology, Class of 2025, and the first Jesuit from Kerala Province to be sent for Theology studies in Africa.
India, which is part of the Jesuit Provinces of South Asia, has 19 Jesuit provinces. Overall, the country has several prominent Theology Schools; therefore, the majority of Indians studying for the priesthood rarely go abroad for a bachelor’s degree in theology.
The Jesuits have two theology schools: Vidyajyoti College of Theology, based in Delhi, which is affiliated to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and the Darjeeling Jesuit Catholic Theological College in North Bengal. Besides these, there are other prominent Catholic Theology Schools in India, including the Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV) in Pune and the St. Peter’s College of Theology in Bangalore, which offer a range of theological studies from undergraduate to doctoral levels. In addition, there are various regional major seminaries run by dioceses and religious orders across India, which provide theological formation for priestly candidates.
The Jesuits, owing to the nature of their ministries, which often span the globe, meaning that a Jesuit can be sent on Mission anywhere across the world, have always chosen to send some students abroad to experience a different kind of contextual Theological formation.
While a number of the Jesuit provinces in India have in the past sent scholastics to Hekima for a Bachelor’s degree in Theology, Kerala Province, where the three Rites of the Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar rite (East Syriac tradition), the Syro-Malankara rite (West Syriac tradition), and the Latin rite (Roman tradition) are practiced sent a student for the first time in 2022.
Father Jaison Joseph, SJ, who belongs to the Syro-Malabar Rite, is the first Jesuit from Kerala Province to study at Hekima. He was ordained a deacon on March 1, 2025, in Nairobi in the Latin Rite. For his ordination to take place, the Rector of Hekima Jesuit Community, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Foro, SJ, had to obtain special permission from Jaison’s provincial, allowing him to be ordained in the Latin Rite.
Although both Latin and Syro-Malabar Rites are fully united with the Pope in Rome, they have distinct liturgical rites with different customs, rituals, and traditions. Among the notable differences between the two rites are not eating meat on all Fridays, a 50-day Lent, and separate seating for men and women for the Syro-Malabar Rite. During an ordination ceremony in the Latin Rites, the candidates usually lie prostrate while a litany of saints is being chanted; this aspect is not found in the Syro-Malabar Rites. Instead, the candidate kneels with their head touching the ground at different points during the ordination ceremony.
The ordination ceremony in the Latin Rites is usually part of Mass, where the ordaining minister is also the main celebrant. However, in the Syro-Malabar Rite, the Ordination ceremony is conducted independently, and once completed, the ordaining minister leaves, and the ordained priest celebrates their first Mass (First Holy Qurbana). In an event where two or three priests are ordained together, one will serve as the main celebrant, while the others will concelebrate.
Another distinct feature between the Syro-Malabar and Latin Rite is the clerical vestments and the architectural design of the Altar.
Fr. Jaison, upon his ordination, was appointed an assistant parish priest to one of the parishes run by the diocese. He will be there for six months, after which his provincial will mission him elsewhere.
Although Jaison was the first Jesuit from Kerala Province to be sent to Hekima, his provincial has since sent others. These include Joseph Peter Christy, SJ, who joined Hekima in 2023 and is currently in his third year at Hekima Jesuit School of Theology, and Issac Baby Tomy, SJ, who joined this year and is in his first year.
Apart from the scholastics from Kerala, the other Indian Jesuit scholastics currently at Hekima Jesuit School of Theology include George Ajay SJ, from Delhi Province, and Rodrigues Ovin Royal, SJ, and Michalappa Princen Michael, SJ, Karnataka Province.
By Pamela Adinda, HUC Communications Coordinator
