In a first, Pope Leo XIV has appointed a Kerala bishop to the Vatican’s International Council for Catechesis. According to church authorities, Mar Jose Pulickal, Bishop of the Kanjirappally Diocese under the Syro-Malabar Church, was named to the high-level council for a five-year term. Stanly Pullolikal noted that the appointment of a Kerala bishop to the international council is an honour for the local church. “In 1973, Pope Paul VI established the International Council for Catechesis to foster training in the life of faith. Mar Pulickal was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Kanjirappally Diocese in 2016 and elevated to Bishop of Kanjirappally on February 3, 2020.