The Catholic Sun :: Phoenix Diocesan Newspaper

A Mass of thanksgiving celebrating the 40th anniversary of Fr. Mathew Plathottam’s ordination to the priesthood was a homecoming of sorts as former classmates helped mark the solemn occasion.

The St. Theresa Parish sanctuary filled with friends and parishioners Nov. 11 for Mass concelebrated with the parish pastor, Fr. Charles Kieffer, VF, Fr. Joseph Meledom and Fr. George Parackal.

Fr. Plathottam, associate pastor at the Phoenix parish for the past three years, attended seminary in India with Fr. Meledom and Fr. Parackal.

“We are very close friends and it’s a privilege to be here as he celebrates his anniversary,” Fr. Meledom said.

Fr. Plathottam’s homily was infused with a profound sense of service to others and a reflection of the past four decades of his life.

“I look back, and I can feel the hand of God,” he said in his homily. “The rest of my life will be an expression of gratitude to God.”

Fr. Plathottam told the attentive congregation that priests in today’s modern world face many challenges and need continued support through prayer.

“Ask God’s blessings to be upon them to be a man of God,” he said. “Prayer is powerful. I believe in it.”

A reception followed the morning Mass in the McMahon Center where a long line formed to greet the 67-year-old priest.

The tribute included a table where children and adults could color a Fr. Plathottam paper doll and dress him in liturgically correct colored chasubles.

“This is fantastic, I wouldn’t have missed it,” said Ed Habalik, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Scottsdale who attended with his wife, Rita.

“We love him and really appreciate all he does for his parishes,” Rita said.

The couple first met Fr. Plathottam when he was assigned to Blessed Sacrament. He also served St. Anne Parish in Gilbert and Our Lady of Joy Parish in Carefree.

“I really like his homilies because if I have questions about the Gospel, he always seems to answer them in his homily,” said Jacquelyn Kovarik, a 13-year-old St. Theresa parishioner.

Although it only took a few hours to toast his service to the Church and the community, it took years for Fr. Plathottam to admit he wanted to become a priest.

The second of nine children, Fr. Plathottam grew up poor in India. As a young boy, he entertained the idea of a priestly vocation after being inspired by the dedication of his own parish priest.

“When I completed high school, I went to the pastor and told him I wanted to enter the seminary. That was the beginning of my life,” Fr. Plathottam said.

Fr. Plathottam was ordained in Kerala, India, in 1967. For more than half of his vocation he worked as the pastor of several parishes in his homeland.

In addition, he served as the Mananthavady diocesan director of Catholic Charities and the diocesan spiritual director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

It was during his postgraduate studies in Canada in 1980 when Fr. Plathottam heard the need for more priests in the United States.

He came to the United States in 1993, and worked for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Calif., before moving to Phoenix in 1996.

He has since become a fixture at St. Theresa where he assists in pastoral care, celebrates school Masses and dons a pair of tennis shoes for a few laps around the campus to keep his diabetes in check.

Aside from his regular duties, on the third Saturday of each month at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Phoenix, Fr. Plathottam celebrates the 5:30 p.m. Syro-Malabar Rite in his native tongue, Malayalam, which is spoken mainly in the southern Indian state of Keral.