Born on 19th April 1945 at Thuruthy, near Changanacherry, Mar George Alencherry was the sixth of the ten children of Philipose and Mary Alencherry. He had his school education at St. Berchmans High School, Changanacherry, and took his bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Berchmans College. He joined the minor seminary at Parel, Changanacherry, in 1961, and studied Philosophy and Theology at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva. He was ordained priest on 18th December 1972 at St. Mary’s Church, Thuruthy. He took his Master’s degree from the Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Aluva, with first rank, and a doctorate in Biblical Theology from Paris (the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute).
He served the Archdiocese of Changanacherry as:
At state level he was secretary of the KCBC Commission for Catechism, director of the Pastoral Orientation Centre, Palarivattom, and deputy secretary of the KCBC. He also taught at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor.
When the Diocese of Thuckalay was erected in 1996, he was appointed its first bishop and was consecrated on 2nd February 1997.
On 24th May 2011 the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church elected Mar George Alencherry as Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, succeeding Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil. He was the first head of the Church to be elected by its own Synod, and he was installed on 29th May 2011. Pope Benedict XVI raised him to the dignity of Cardinal in the consistory of 18th February 2012, with the titular church of San Bernardo alle Terme, Rome. He became a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and he took part in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis. In December 2019 he was elected President of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. After more than twelve years of dedicated service as the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, he laid down the office of Major Archbishop in December 2023 and was succeeded by Mar Raphael Thattil.
