Matthew Makil

In September 1889, Father Matthew Makil was appointed Vicar General for the Syro-Malabar faithful known as "Southists" (the Knanaya community) within the Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam, under the authority of the French Jesuit Bishop Mgr Charles Lavigne. It was in this capacity that he deployed intense pastoral and social activity. On June 22, 1892, with the support and approval of Mgr Lavigne, he founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (SVM) in Kaipuzha. Concerned for the future of this work, he donated his own family lands to establish the first convent. This congregation set as its primary mission the education of girls, the promotion of Christian life, and charitable service to the sick and the needy. In August 1896, Pope Leo XIII reorganized the Syro-Malabar Church by erecting three apostolic vicariates (Trichur, Ernakulam, and Changanacherry) entrusted for the first time to indigenous bishops. Matthew Makil was then appointed Vicar Apostolic of Changanacherry and titular Bishop of Tralles. He received episcopal consecration on October 25, 1896, in Kandy (Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka) at the hands of the Apostolic Delegate Mgr Wladyslaw Michal Zaleski. At the head of his vicariate, Mgr Makil distinguished himself by his pastoral zeal. Notably, on September 21, 1903, he published an important "Book of Decrees," which constituted the first code of canon law for Syro-Malabar Christians since their separation from the Latin Archdiocese of Verapoly. He tirelessly visited parishes, encouraged catechesis, founded Catholic schools, and actively supported the creation of other religious institutes (such as the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in 1908 and the Congregation of the Sacred Heart in 1911). Faced with persistent tensions between the "Northist" and "Southist" (Knanaya) communities within the Syro-Malabar Church, Mgr Makil demonstrated a great spirit of peace. He proposed a territorial reorganization to the Holy See to preserve harmony. In August 1911, Pope Saint Pius X acceded to his request by re-establishing the Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam exclusively for Knanaya Catholics. Mgr Makil was transferred there on August 29, 1911, thus becoming the first indigenous Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam.

The reputation for holiness of Bishop Matthew Makil, already widely spread during his lifetime due to his charity and patience in the face of trials, grew after his death on January 26, 1914, in Kottayam. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially introduced in the Archeparchy of Kottayam. The Holy See granted the nihil obstat decree on November 11, 2008, officially opening the way for the diocesan inquiry. On January 26, 2009, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of his death, he was declared a Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI.

On May 22, 2025, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Matthew Makil, thus raising him to the rank of Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, a miracle that is scientifically inexplicable and attributed to his intercession must be formally recognized by the Holy See.

The spirituality of Bishop Matthew Makil is deeply rooted in confident abandonment to the divine will and love for one's neighbor. Faced with the ecclesial divisions and social conflicts of his time, he always favored gentleness, humility, and the pursuit of peace, refusing to respond to adversity with violence or resentment. His filial attachment to the Magisterium of the Church was reflected in his constant promotion of Christian doctrine through his pastoral letters and homilies. His most visible legacy remains the Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation (SVM), which continues its educational, healthcare, and social activities in India and abroad to this day. Furthermore, he is venerated as the founding father of the Knanaya Catholic hierarchy, having successfully structured and guided his community while maintaining an unwavering communion with the universal Church.