St. Peter's Malayalam Academy

       Founded in 1966, St. Peter's Malayalam Academy has always had the unique mission of nurturing the literary and artistic talents of seminarians from the dioceses of Kerala. Although the membership of the Academy was small in the early years, it has now grown to 35 members.

     At the beginning of the academic year, an inaugural session is convened to welcome the newcomers. Not only seminarians but also priests who are from Kerala and are pursuing postgraduate studies in our institute are invited. The members of the academy celebrate Onam, the biggest and most important festival of the state of Kerala, with great joy and enthusiasm in the campus and the seminary supports us to celebrate it in a befitting manner. A special Eucharistic celebration for the whole seminary community is offered to mark the occasion. The celebrations include various activities like a colourful flower arrangement, Onam games, songs and dishes. Due to the severe havoc and loss to life and property caused by heavy rains and floods in the state of Kerala, the usual colourful Onam celebrations were dispensed with in the year 2018. Under the leadership of its director, Very Rev Fr A.M.Joseph Ethakuzhy, the Academy donated an amount to the relief fund.

     The Academy gives ample opportunity to its members to improve their sermons in Malayalam. The members prepare their sermons which are corrected by the director and delivered on Tuesdays. They are critically evaluated by the other members and the director. In this way, we can identify our mistakes and weaknesses in our sermons and improve our preaching skills. The COVID -19 and the closure of facilities during the outbreak and lockdown had forced the seminary to operate for only a limited period of time during 2020-2021. Although the academy had a total of 11 weeks from January 19 to March 30,2021, it managed to give all its members space to preach. Besides Onam, the most important event of the academy is Christmas, which is celebrated with love and joy.

     At the end of the academic year, the Academy organises a farewell meeting for the deacons and philosophy graduates of the Academy. At this meeting, in addition to gifts and surprises, some warm words are shared by the other members, which we find very enriching. We, the members of the Academy, will always be grateful to the seminary where we spent the most formative time of our lives. The Academy is indebted to its pioneers and alumni for creating innovative, engaging and inspiring learning environments and activities to motivate and inspire the seminarians of the Dioceses of Kerala to improve their intellectual and pastoral skills for the Kingdom of God. I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Very Rev Fr. Richard Britto, our Rector, and Very Rev Fr. A.M. Joseph Ethakuzhy, our Director, for their timely help and fatherly guidance.