Kuriakose Elias Chavara

Indian Carmelite priest and Religious Founder

Kuriakose Elias Chavara, C.M.I. (10 February 1805 – 3 January 1871) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest, philosopher and social reformer.He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and a member of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic church.

He was the co-founder and first Prior General of the first congregation for men in the Syro-Malabar Church, now known as the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (C.M.I.), and of a similar one for women, the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (C.M.C.).

He is a pioneer in many fields.