(21.09.1945 – 03.12.2020) 

Fr O.P. Mathew left for his eternal reward on 3 December 2020.   He was the first vocation and the first Jesuit from the Chirackal Mission founded by the Italian missionary Fr Caironi S J of blessed memory. He joined the Society in 1966 as a brother at Christ Hall, Kozhikode, but was later ordained a priest in the society. He lived 55 years a Jesuit.

‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness’ said Shakespeare. True to this dictum, Mathew was all what he achieved. Born in 1945 in humble circumstances, he lost his father while still a child. So he grew up in the Boys’ Home run by the Mission in Mattul. Though he was intelligent, he could not complete his High School due to reasons beyond him. The Fathers employed him as a Prefect in the Boys’ Home. The life of the missionaries made a great impact on him. So, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Christ Hall in 1966. It was Providential that Fr. Aloysius Del Zotto as Provincial received him into the Society. Del Zotto was his guardian and mentor at the Boys’ Home.

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”(Mt. 20:26) Mathew knew his Bible well. That molded Mathew into a hard working and exemplary brother. He never forgot his roots. This made him kind and concerned to all entrusted to his care. Mathew was benign by nature. His hospitality to guests as Jesuit Minister was allegorical.  He proved his empathy for the poor and orphaned students while at St Vincent Boys’ Home, Kozhikode. Many of them were helped by him in training and getting a job; they used to visit   him with their families   while he was bedridden.  His encouraging and affectionate words baked in the oven of hard life guided them through thick and thin. 

Mathew was 45 years old and had completed 25 years as a brother when he wrote the Master’s exam in Sociology privately and  came off with flying colours. ‘Way leads on to way,’ says Robert Frost, and so magis to magis. Lending his ears to the whispering of his inner voice, Mathew applied for Priesthood and the request was accepted by the Society. He was ordained on 27 November 2000 at his own parish Church of Mattul, Kannur. He was 55 yars old.

His first years of pastoral ministry were in the parishes of Thiruvananthapuram Diocese where the parishioners still keep his memory framed in their hearts. Later, he was transferred to Pariyaram, Kannur, to assist Fr Zucol, the great Italian missionary. The octogenarian was busy with varied activities.  Mathew was the interpreter to Zucol who was short of hearing. Mathew accompanied him in every activity of the parish. The heavy schedule was too much for Mathew. He soon collapsed with his neck down paralyzed. Eswar (God), a famous surgeon, was instrumental in his recovery. Mathew assisted Zucol for nine years. After the death of Fr Zucol which almost orphaned him, he started stumbling and falling occasionally. This, ultimately, made him bed ridden. He struggled for four years to be back on his foot and serve his people.

 ‘Man proposes but God disposes’. Mathew breathed his last on the feast of St. Francis Xavier. Like St. Francis, his eyes were set on his mission. But the good Lord had His own plans for both of them.

Raphael Thottan, S J