Bishop of Aitape
Bishop Siby Mathew Peedikayil, Bishop of Aitape, was born on December 6, 1970, at Meloram, in the Idukki district of Kerala, in India. He belongs to the Heralds of Good News, in which he made his vows on July 3, 1986, and he carried out his formation in India, taking a diploma in 1994 and a master's degree in theology from St. Albert's College in Ranchi in 1996. He was ordained a priest on February 1, 1995. He was responsible for spiritual formation and procurator of St. Joseph's Major Seminary in Andhra Pradesh from 1996 to 1997, and from 1998 he served as a missionary in Vanimo, where he was rector of the St. John Vianney minor seminary from 1998 to 2003 and a lecturer at the St. Charles Borromeo major seminary from 1999 to 2004, and vicar general of the Diocese of Vanimo from 2003 to 2004. He was then rector of St. Joseph's Major Seminary and parish priest of Pallegudem in Khammam from 2004 to 2008, and provincial superior of the St. Paul Province of his congregation in India from 2008 to 2014. From 2014 he was parish priest of St. Bruno's parish, episcopal vicar for pastoral care and a member of the college of consultors, from 2015 a lecturer at the St. Charles Borromeo major seminary, and from 2018 again vicar general of the Diocese of Vanimo. On May 13, 2021, he was appointed Bishop of Aitape. He received episcopal ordination on September 26, 2021, at Aitape, with John Ribat as principal consecrator and Anton Bal and Otto Separy as co-consecrators.