Bishop George Mamalassery Passes Away
Bengaluru: Bishop George Mamalassery, Bishop Emeritus of Tura, passed away on Friday, July 5, 2024, at 2.20 am in Holy Cross Hospital, Tura, Meghalaya, due to severe respiratory issues. He had been undergoing treatment for fluid accumulation in his lungs in recent months. As the first bishop of the Diocese of Tura, Meghalaya, he served for 28 years (1979-2007).
Born on April 23, 1932, in Kalathoor, Kerala, George Mamalassery was the youngest of three children to Kurian and Elizabeth Mamalassery. Orphaned at 12, he joined Sacred Heart Seminary in Poonamallee for the Diocese of Madras-Mylapore, completing his studies from 1950 to 1960. Driven by missionary zeal, he volunteered to serve in the Northeast. Rev. Louis Mathias D.D. ordained him on April 24, 1960.
Mamalassery was then sent to the Garo Hills in the Archdiocese of Shillong-Guwahati, a remote, hazardous region plagued by malaria and wildlife. After serving as an assistant parish priest in Tura and Baghmara for a decade, he became parish priest of Dalu in 1970. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, he provided shelter, food, and support to displaced people in his parish.
On February 8, 1979, the Holy See appointed Fr. George Mamalassery at the age of 46, as the first Bishop of Tura, with his ordination following on March 18, 1979. As bishop, he expanded 14 existing centers and established 23 new parishes, complete with churches, presbyteries, convents, dispensaries, hostels, and schools. Recognizing the region’s poor economic and educational standards, he developed a network of educational institutions, even in remote areas.
Bishop Mamalassery invited the Salesians and Jesuits to establish colleges in Tura and William Nagar, respectively. He set up 34 dispensaries across Garo Hills’ five districts and founded the 150-bed Holy Cross Hospital in Tura in 1993. His construction initiatives earned him the nickname “Engineer Bishop.”
He also prioritized healthcare education, establishing the Rino Simonetti School of Nursing in Tura. For differently abled individuals, he invited the Montfort Brothers to create the Montfort Centre for the Physically Challenged. Bishop George was instrumental in establishing Bakdil, the diocesan social service center, now one of the Northeast’s top-performing NGOs.
After retiring in 2007, Bishop George continued to serve the diocese from the Priest’s Home. The Government of Meghalaya honored him with the Pa Togan Sangma award, and the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, conferred an honorary doctorate upon him in 2019 for his contributions to education, healthcare, and socio-economic development.
The Church in India remains deeply indebted to him for his missionary work in the Garo Hills and his foundational role in the Diocese of Tura.