Mgr. John Palocaren (1886–1948) was the founding principal of St. Thomas College, Thrissur. Palocaren was born on 8 September 1886 in the Nadathara Palocaren family, an ancient Syrian Christian family of Kerala State, India.[1] He was ordained as a minister in 1915, served at the St Thomas High School in Thrissur for three years, and was appointed the principal of St Thomas College when it was founded in April 1919.[1] Soon after, he obtained MA in English Literature with distinction from the University of Edinburgh.[1] In 1924 he returned as principal of St Thomas College, a status he retained until 1948. In 1937, he was awarded the status of Monsignor (Domestic Prelate).[1] Palocaren died on 19 August 1948.[2] The 125th anniversary of his birth was celebrated at the college on 8 September 2011.[1][3][4][5]
Among Palocaren's former students are internationally respected spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran,[6] former Kerala Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad, former Bishop George Alappatt, and former Chief Justice M.S. Menon.[3]
Palocaren was an editor of Keralam.[7]
Historian George Menachery stated that Palocaren played a key role in the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours, the largest church in India and the tallest in Asia.[4]
- ^ a b c d e St Thomas College remembers Palocaren, its first principal, City Journal, Thursday 8 September (accessed 19 September 2011)
- ^ Analecta (of Saint Thomas College, Trissur) Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, timeline (accessed 19 September 2011)
- ^ a b Palocaren Remembrance, The Hindu, Thursday 8 September 2011 (accessed 19 September 2011
- ^ a b ‘John Palocaren was a visionary educationist', The Hindu, Friday 9 September 2011 (accessed 19 September 2011)
- ^ Birth anniversary of Monsieur John Palocaren celebrated, City Journal, Friday 9 September 2011 (accessed 19 September 2011)
- ^ "The headmaster of my college was Father John Palakaran [sic], a Catholic priest from a distinguished Kerala Christian family who had taken his degrees at Edinburgh University", quotation from page 6 of Easwaran, Eknath (1996). Seeing with the eyes of love: Eknath Easwaran on the imitation of Christ. Tomales, CA, USA: Nilgiri Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-915132-87-7.
easwaran father john palakaran.
- ^ "Facets of History" (St. Thomas College Manual, 2011–2012, pp. 12–29) Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine (ALTERNATE LINK TO TEXT Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 19 September 2011). Page 16 states that the journal Keralam, though it "did not survive long, it did attain reputation among scholars, men of letters and the reading public of the time for the standards it set for itself and the contributions that it made to the spread of ideas and values that were so essential for the growth of a democratized society and secular culture in this part of India."