New Delhi: Chevalier Adv. V C Sebastian has been re-elected as the Secretary of the Laity Council of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India during the 142nd Standing Committee Meeting of the CBCI which met at St. John’s Medical College auditorium, Bangalore. His term of office is up to October 14, 2025.
Mar George Madathikandathil, Bishop of the Diocese of Kothamangalam, Keral,a is the Chairman of the Council, Most Rev. Joshua Mar Ignathios, Bishop of the Diocese of Mavelikkara and Rt.Rev. Eugene Joseph, Bishop of the Diocese of Varanasi are members.
V C Sebastian is also the National Secretary General of the Indian Farmers’ Movement (INFAM), and General Secretary, National Council of the Indian Christian Community. A leading Management consultant, he is also serving as the Executive Secretary to the Kerala Catholic Engineering College Managements’ Association, South India Convenor of Rashtriya Kissan Mahasangh, Chairman, Home of International Fellowship, and Chief Editor of the ‘Laity Voice’, besides playing active roles in various national and international movements.
As the first Secretary of the Commission for Laity of the Syro Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, V C Sebastian has rendered valuable services in strengthening the Syro Malabar Church community globally. His organizing ability and innovative style of functioning have contributed substantially to the empowerment of the laity in various countries as well as in several States of India. His timely intervention in the challenges to Catholic faith as well as the issues related to the religious minorities, especially in domains, social and agricultural, has strengthened the Church and the public.
In recognition of the meritorious services Sebastian has been rendering to the Church, The Holy Father graciously granted him the title of ‘Chevalier’, the top honour awarded to the laity in the Catholic Church, in 2013. The international seminar ‘Alcohol and Drug-Free Lifestyle’ organized in Bombay in 1988, which was attended by St. Mother Theresa and First International Laity Assembly of Syro Malabar Church Commission for Laity held in Kochi in 2009 bear ample testimony to his organizing skills.
The CBCI Council for Laity coordinate and strengthening the Catholic faithful of the 174 Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara dioceses the mainstream of the numerous laity programs in India. The main objectives of the Council for Laity are to encourage witness of life of the laity in social, political and cultural areas, and to foster networking among Catholic associations, movements and communities of faith for their effective presence in the parishes, dioceses, regions and at the national level.
