St Gerard Majella Church Chermside West QLD

Fr Paul Chackanikunnel CMI  

Parish Priest  

 

 

07 3359 0239  

07 3359 0550  

Click here to contact Fr Paul Chackanikunnel CMI  

Dear Friends,

I am Fr Paul Chackanikunnel CMI, a religious priest belonging to the Order of ‘Carmelites of Mary Immaculate’ (CMI) founded by St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the first indigenous Order of India in 1831. The order has over eighteen hundred priests working in more than 31 countries worldwide and around twelve hundred students in seminary in formation.

I was born on 7th January 1971, in a middle class family as the eldest son of Mr John and Mrs Mary Chackānikunnel. I have two brothers and two sisters who all are settled in Kerala, India. In 1986, at the age of 15, I joined the Order and completed my Higher Secondary education, graduations, and other required religious studies for priesthood. I was ordained on 26 December 2000.

After my ordination I was asked to start a school at Kanghangad, North of Kerala State where the CMIs had no educational institutions. By the end of 2004, basic facilities and all accreditations from the Government Educational Authorities had been achieved. I left the school in 2005 to complete my Master’s degree in Economics. While I was leaving as the Founding Principal of Christ CMI Public School, it had 700 children from prep to year 9. It has now grown to year 12 with around 1300 students.

While I was preparing for my Masters, my provincial superior received an invitation from the Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese requesting couple of priests to assist him in pastoral ministries in his diocese. In response to his invitation, I agreed to come to Australia with another priest from the Order, Fr Sunny Mathew and arrived in 2006. After a month’s initial training at Forbes, I was appointed to Bourke.

When I was asked of my readiness to be appointed at Bourke, honestly, I did not know much about Bourke or its nuances. With the humility and gentleness of a missionary priest, especially as a new arrival from overseas, I consented to go to Bourke.

After arriving there, I realized that ‘Bourke is nowhere from everywhere’. However, very quickly I became familiar with the new cultural environment and the language, including the expression ‘Back O’ Bourke’. My stay at Bourke was a blessing in disguise helping me to learn the both the and Aboriginal Cultures and the Australian (Language). Along with the culture and linguistic differences, what amazed most in Australia was the breadth and length of this continent and consequently the travel distances, especially when driving through unsealed country roads for hundreds of kilometers to reach the remote out back communities.

Scarcity of Priests in Australia and my ability to adapt to my living situations reasonably well were the reasons for my long stay in Australia. As the CMI Order gets on average 50 ordinations every year, my return to my previous ministry in India, was not necessary - and I was needed in Australia. My pastoral and administrational qualifications gave me many skills and helped me to be a parish priest in country parishes rather easily.

After my appointment at Wentworth (the Junction, Murray and Darling Rivers) in 2008, my second parish in Australia, the diocese was undergoing a challenge to its existence as a mission diocese. After Bishop C Toohey has resigned in 2009, there were proposals to suppress the diocese and to divide it with the neighbouring dioceses. Because of this uncertainty, my religious superiors or the diocesan office at Forbes were not keen to renew the contract for me to continue my service in the diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes.

The Archdiocese of Brisbane had already requested priests from the CMI Order, and my religious superior asked me if I was willing to move to Brisbane as part of my future. I agreed to this request and was appointed at Woodford and three years later at Hendra.

My appointment to Chermside was made well before COVID-19 was spreading widely. However, I did not move from Hendra to Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Chermside, until Easter Monday 22 April 2019, during the COVID-19 lock down period. It was an uncomfortable time for me to leave a community without any farewell and join another without a formal welcome!

My educational and work qualifications are:

Education:

Bachelor of Philosophy – Bph.(Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram,Pontifical Athenaeum, Bangalore)

Bachelor of Economics – B.A. (Economics) (St. Joseph’s College, University of Calicut)

Bachelor of Theology – BTh. (Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Pontifical Athenaeum, Bangalore)

Bachelor of Education – B.Ed. (St. Joseph’s College, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam)

Cert. in Pastoral Ministry and Administration (Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram,Pontifical Athenaeum, Bangalore)

Currently completing a Bachelor of Psychology B.A.(Psychology) (Swinburne University of Technology)

Work Experience:

Principal (2001 – 2005) – Christ CMI Public School, Kanhangad, India. I was the Founding Principal of this Secondary School which had 700 students at the time of his departure. The school has now grown to a Higher Secondary School with 1300 students.

Parish Priest (2006-2008) – Bourke, Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese, NSW.

Parish Priest (2008-2011) – Wentworth, Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese, NSW.

Parish Priest (2011-2014) – Stanley River (Kilcoy &Woodford), Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Parish Priest (2014-2020) – Mother of Mercy Parish, Hendra Northgate Hamilton.

Parish Priest (2020- ) – Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Chermside West and Wavell Heights.

Faith in Jesus, who is Lord and God, is our common bond that sets us up as one family in Jesus. This oneness is the aim of Jesus when he promised his power, the Holy Spirit, upon his followers. Helping each and everyone in this parish community to become one family in Jesus, sharing his unconditional, and forgiving love between us, is the mission and ministry that I have taken up by my appointment as the Parish Priest of the Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Chermside West and Wavell Heights. I am glad to say that we are already a welcoming community. However, we could present Jesus better to others by our dispositions, even by our genuine smile. Therefore, may I request your kind support and participation, as members of the body of Christ.

I dearly love my parish and the people wherever I am appointed because the Parish is my family. Each of you play different roles, as my parents, brothers and sisters, and children in my ministry. I am convinced of this, my ministry among you, as the plan of God, a plan that has to be unveiled in detail over time. Therefore, my first wish in this parish is to be united in prayer and in our Christian duty to love one another as Jesus loves us. Because, only in love we find forgiveness, understanding, adjustment, compassion and generosity.

Looking forward to knowing you more, and working with you.

Fr Paul Chackanikunnel CMI Parish Priest  

 

Ms Kerstin Knott  

Parish Secretary  

146 Maundrell Terrace
Chermside West
Queensland
4032  

07 3359 0239  

07 3359 0550  

Click here to contact Ms Kerstin Knott