(15-10-1904 to 21-04-1984)
Rev. Fr. Paul Poovathil OCD of Jesus died on 23rd December, 1983, at the age of 67 in 47th year of his Profession.
Dominic Poovathil, son of Thomas and Anna, was born on 17th February, 1917 at Paipad, belonging to Changanacherry Archdiocese.
Dominic joined our Order of the Discalced Carmelites, at Carmel Hill Monastery, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1935. He received the Holy Habit of the Order on 7th July, 1936 taking the new name as Br. Paul Poovathil OCD of Jesus. He made his Simple Profession on 8th July 1937; and his Solemn Profession on 8th July 1940 and was ordained priest on 20th March, 1944 in St. Elias’ Monastery church, Thuckalay by Msgr. Agniswamy SJ, Bishop of Kottar.
Rev. Fr. Paul has served our communities at: Thiruvananthapuram, Varapuzha, Thuckalay, Bengaluru and Ettumannoor. He was a talented apostle of the Word of God. Everyone appreciated his sermons well. He had contributed many articles in religious themes to our ‘CARMEL’ and other Catholic periodicals. He had written a book Effective Preaching on homilies. He was the Chief Editor of ‘CARMEL’ for three years from 1966-1969. He had served as the Professor of English and Latin on our Preparatory College, Ettumannoor. He mastered himself in many languages – English, Tamil and Kannada besides Latin and Malayalam. He looked after the Mission Parish of Kodathy for ten years from 1967 to 1977.
Since few years, Rev. Fr. Paul suffered from various ailments. In June, 1982, he was admitted in the Holy Cross Hospital, Kottiyam for treatment. The medical diagnosis revealed that he had Leukemia and that his life could had prolonged by regular transfusion of blood. Fr. Paul resigned himself to the Will of God especially when he was suffering from acute pain for long months. Being strengthened by the Holy Sacraments of the Church, he placed peacefully his soul in the hands of Jesus on 21st April, 1984, on Holy Saturday Eve in the Kottiyam hospital. His body was brought to Carmel Hill Monastery, Thiruvananthapuram and was interred in the Monastery crypt on 22nd April, 1984, on the Evening of Easter Sunday.
May the merciful Lord reward His servant for the good works done in his life and the patience and surrendering to the Lord for the intense sufferings he endured in the last years of his life!
+ May the Lord reward His faithful Carmelite Friar!!
REQUIEM IN PACEM!!