The sad demise news of beloved His Excellency Bishop Simon Kaipuram C.M. of Balasore was received from Fr. Jadu Marndi, Vicar general, Balasore. He had a massive heart attack, was rushed to Jyoti hospital. There again he had another attack, with that he breathed his last at 1.45 am today 22 April 2019. The funeral will take place on Wednesday, 24th April 2019, at Balasore Cathedral, at 3 pm.
His Excellency, Bishop Simon Kaipuram was born on 9th February 1954, at Tanneermukkom, in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, Southern India. He was one of the six children of Chacko and Mary Kaipuram. His parish was Kannankara under the Kottayam archdiocese of Kerala. One of his sisters is a member of the Sisters of Province. After his high school studies at St. Mathew’s high school, Kannankara, he came to Odisha as a candidate of the Congregation of the missions or the Vincentians.
He entered the first year of his seminary at Bhanjanagar, under Thomas Thriuthalil, who was then the rector of the minor seminary, in the undivided Diocese of Cuttack, Odisha. After completing minor seminary studies, he joined Aquinas College, Gopalpur-on-Sea- in 1972 for Philosophy. The same year he joined the Vincentians officially, pronouncing the first vows. He went to Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, in 1977 for his Theology studies. In 1980, he took the final vows in the congregation and was ordained a deacon. He was ordained a priest on 20th December 1980. He was the mentor of the congregation of mission, popularly known as Vincentians. He earned a doctorate in 1993 in the Biblical Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He was serving as the rector and professor at Aquinas College, Gopalpur, at that time, when appointed as Bishop of Balasore, Odisha state, by his Holiness Pope Francis on 9th December 2013, and was ordained Bishop on 30th January 2014.
