Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, Archbishop of Louisville has made the following official appointments effective Aug. 1, 2024:
Reverend Leo Payyappilly, OFM Conv., a member of the St. Maximilian Kolbe Province of Conventual Franciscan Friars in India, will serve as pastor of Incarnation Church. This appointment will coincide with the termination of his responsibilities as associate pastor of St. Paul Church.
Father Payyappilly, born in Kerala, India, joined the Conventual Franciscan Order in 1988, at the age of 15, made a simple profession on April 30, 1993 and the solemn profession on May 24, 1997. He was ordained to the priesthood on Feb. 6, 2003. He attended seminary at St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Ernakulam, Kerala. He studied at St. Dominic’s College in Kottayam, Kerala. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy from Mahathma Gandhi University in Kottayam and earned a master’s degree in theology (Oriental Canon Law) at Vienna University in Vienna, Austria in 2002.
Prior to arriving in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Father Payyappilly served his province in India as secretary to the Provincial Custos, definitor (member of the Administrative Team), province secretary, vicar provincial and minister provincial. From 2013 to 2015, he also served as a member of the campus ministry team at Bellarmine University.
He currently serves as associate pastor of St. Paul and Incarnation. He also serves as the delegate of his provincial for the province’s friars and ministries in the U.S., as a definitor of the Our Lady of Consolation Province of Conventual Franciscans (based in Indiana), as a member of the Mission Committee of the OLC Province, and as a member of the board of directors of Harbor House.
Reverend Shaju Puthussery, OFM Conv., a member of the St. Maximilian Kolbe Province of Conventual Franciscan Friars in India, will continue to serve as pastor of St. Paul Church. This assignment will coincide with the termination of his responsibilities as pastor of Incarnation.
Father Puthussery, born in Kerala, India, joined the Conventual Franciscan Order in 1992 at the age of 17, made a simple profession on May 1, 1995, and the solemn profession on May 24, 2000. He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 30, 2001. He attended seminary at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, Kerala. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy from Mahathma Gandhi University and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, specializing in Franciscan spirituality, from the Seraphicum in Rome.
Prior to arriving in the Archdiocese of Louisville, he served in the St. Maximilian Kolbe Province as office secretary to the Provincial Custos, Assisi Shanthi Kendra, Karukutty, Kerala. He also served as the assistant novice master at Belvedere Franciscan Ashram, Tamilnadu; as associate pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam, Kerala; and as official confessor at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. He was elected and served as definitor of the St. Maximilian Kolbe Province, president of the Formation Commission of the province, novice master and guardian of the Novitiate House, and spiritual father to the minor seminarians, providing classes and pastoral services.
In the Archdiocese of Louisville, he has served as associate pastor of St. Gabriel Church and currently serves as pastor of St. Paul and Incarnation.
