Meet Fr. Abraham Orapankal, Pastor of St. Matthias

Born Oct. 11, 1956 in the southernmost Indian state of Kerala, Father Abraham Orapankal, his parents’ firstborn, has four brothers and three sisters. At age 15 he entered the seminary in the northeastern state of Assam to become a missionary priest. He then graduated from Christ King College, Shillong, and completed his theological studies at Jnana Deepa-Vidyapeeth (Pontifical Institute) in Pune, both in India. He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 17, 1983 for the missionary Diocese of Kohima in Nagaland, then earned his master’s degree in theology. He was appointed dean of the Minor Seminary in Nagaland, where he subsequently became rector. He was then made Pastor of Queen Mary’s Parish and Principal of Queen Mary’s High School with 2000 students in Mokokchung, Nagaland while serving as an adjunct professor in the Oriens Theological College in Shillong.

As a Ph.D was required to be a resident professor at Oriens, Father Abraham came to the United States in 1994 and began his doctoral studies at Fordham University, while serving as Parochial Vicar at St. Catharine’s Church, Blauvelt, NY. After earning a doctorate in the church leadership program from Fordham’s School of Education, he also completed a Certification program in Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Ecumenical Institute in Bethesda, Md. He returned to India in 2001 to teach theology and to serve as spiritual director at Oriens Theological Seminary in Shillong. But in 2004 he was allowed to return to the U.S. due to health reasons. Residing at Sacred Heart Church in South Plainfield, NJ, he did six years of ministry with RENEW International, as a national presenter and retreat director. RENEW is a 40-year-old international Catholic movement, following the principles of Vatican Council II, started in the Newark Archdiocese. Father Abraham also supervised RENEW’s “Theology on Tap” – a very effective outreach to young adults.

He joined the Diocese of Metuchen and Bishop Paul Bootkoski appointed him as Parochial Vicar at St. Bartholomew’s Church in East Brunswick in 2010. He was sent to St. John Neumann Church as Pastor in 2012. Bishop James Checchio transferred him as administrator of St. Matthias Church in October 2018. A year later he was appointed Pastor of St. Matthias Parish.  

Letters from Fr. Abraham

• 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, Our parishioners doing the “Fall Into Faith” Bible sharing sessions are having a greater understanding of the Word… Read more: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, This is Veterans Day weekend – an occasion to remind ourselves of the importance to honor all those… Read more: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
• Sunday, November 3, 2024
    Dear Friends, This weekend and for the whole of November, we fondly remember all our near and dear departed ones. Some… Read more: Sunday, November 3, 2024
• 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, In a few days, we enter some very important events in the church’s calendar. All Saints Day is this… Read more: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, Today is World Mission Sunday, organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. It is a… Read more: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, After reading about the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in my column last Sunday, a couple of… Read more: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, Last Sunday I wrote about October as the Respect Life month. It is also the month of the… Read more: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, This Tuesday we enter October, the Respect Life Month. We are a pro-life Church. This past Thursday (9/26/24)… Read more: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
  A Message From Fr. Lancelot Dear Friends, In his book “True Self, False Self,” Basil Pennington presents us with one of the… Read more: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, What do you think of the new screen in our church? Thank you to those of you who… Read more: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, September 8 is a very important day in the Marian calendar and for Marian devotion. It is the birthday of… Read more: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, I hear so many say, “I can’t believe summer is over!” When we keep ourselves very busy, I… Read more: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, There are two matters of importance to share with you. The firsts is about the checks that are… Read more: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, Have you ever been asked to bring up the gifts to the altar during Sunday Mass? Did you… Read more: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, Did you follow the National Eucharistic Congress that took place in Indianapolis last month, from July 17-21? It was… Read more: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    Dear Friends, August is a month filled with many important saints, very diverse in life, and worthy of reflection and… Read more: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    A Message From Our Pastoral Staff Dear Friends, Today on National Parent’s Day we recognize the invaluable role parents or… Read more: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
• 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
  A Message From Our Pastoral Staff HOW DO WE GET TO HEAVEN? Wouldn’t it be great if we had a GPS… Read more: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time