Stanley Roman
| The Right Rev. Dr. Stanley Roman | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Quilon | |
 Stanley Roman, Bishop of Quilon | |
| Diocese | Quilon |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Indian |
Stanley Roman (born 4 June 1941) became the 13th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon, India[1][2] in 2001, and the education chairman of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council.
Biography
Stanley Roman was born on 4 June 1941 at Punalur in Kollam district. He is the 10th of the eleven children of Roman Fernandez and Elizabeth (7 boys and 4 girls).
After Bishop Roman's primary education at St. John’s L.P. School and Government U.P. School, Akkara at Punalur, he joined St. Raphael’s Minor Seminary at Kollam, where he was later to be Vice Rector, for religious studies and simultaneously completed his schooling from St. Aloysius School, Kollam.
In 1959, he commenced philosophy studies at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva. After 2 years, he was chosen to pursue priestly studies at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, where he received a Master's Degree in Philosophy and Theology. He was ordained priest by Cardinal Agagiani, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome on 16 December 1966.
When Father Roman returned to Kollam, he was initially appointed as the Prefect of St.Raphael's Seminary. He continued his studies and received a Master of Arts, English Language and Literature from the University of Kerala. He then joined Fatima Mata National College, Kollam as an English instructor and the bursar, and later became its principal. After holding various posts in the Diocese, he was appointed the First Rector of Carmel Giri Major Seminary, Latin rite, when St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary was re-organized on the basis of rites.
He was nominated as the 13th Bishop of Kollam on 29 October 2001, while he was serving as the Rector of Carmelgiri Seminary. Dr. Roman was consecrated on 16 December 2001.[3] In 2004, Bishop Roman founded the Pradhibhodayam education program, for scholastically gifted, but financially challenged members of the Diocese. In 2007, Bishop Roman inaugurated Jagat Jyoti Mandir (House of the Light of the Universe), which is a Christian church incorporating Hindu cultural elements.[4]
The 75th birthday celebrations and the sacerdotal golden jubilee of Bishop Stanley Roman was held on June 4, 2016. Following a request from the bishop, the celebration was made a low key affair. The high mass in connection with the celebrations was held at the Infant Jesus Cathedral at Tangasseri at 4 p.m. A 140-member choir added colour to the high mass. On the occasion, the Bishop conferred Papal recognitions on seven members of the laity from the diocese. The recognitions included one Chevalier, two Benemerenti and four Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medals.
References
- ↑ http://www.cbcisite.com/Quilon.htm
- ↑ "Stanley Roman: Bishop". Diocesan Directory, UCAN India. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
- ↑ "Bishop Stanley Roman". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
- ↑ Don Sebastian (28 January 2007). "Indian Christ worshipped in Kerala temple". dnaindia. Mumbai: Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
The church/temple named Jagat Jyoti Mandir (House of the Light of the Universe), inaugurated by Kollam bishop Stanley Roman on Friday, is supposed to be a place of exchange for religions. “We envisaged this chapel as a place to promote fellowship among religions. You can see every religion's motif here,” said Fr Stanley Roman, director of Kollam Social Service Society (QSS), an agency of the Kollam diocese. “The idea is to highlight an Indian experience of Christianity. Our bishops were always in favour of the indigenisation of the Church since the days of the Second Vatican Council. There are many churches in north India, which are architecturally close to Hindu temples. But in the south, Christianity seldom deviated from the original design. I doubt if anyone has done an experiment like this,” Fr Antony added.
