Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2022
Fr. Jacob Nedumkallal was a visiting priest at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Shakopee in 1976. After staying in Shakopee for a while, he attended St. Thomas College (now University of St. Thomas) to continue his education in spiritual counseling, and later St. John’s University, before heading back to India.
Fr. Francis Eret, St. Mark’s pastor, had a much more limited knowledge of Malayalam, the language that Fr. Nedumkallal used in India.
Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is spoken by 2.88 percent of Indians and is spoken by 34 million people worldwide, according to Wikipedia.
There are 21 different states with 21 different languages and 15 languages nationally, according to an article in the Shakopee Valley News on March 17, 1976. “I only know one word, and I forgot it already,” said Fr. Eret in an article by Mary Schaefer called “Visiting priest will return to India following studies.” “It’s oowa. He (Father Jacob) was saying it on the phone the other day. Oowa. Oowa. Oowa. So I figured it was yes.”
Fr. Jacob felt at home here in Shakopee. “People are very kind.”
Fr. Eret said that Fr. Jacob had been introduced to ham, barbecue ribs, steak, bacon, chicken, and something new to him—strawberries.” Fr. Eret said, “He eats it all. He is not fussy.”
In India, Fr. Jacob mostly ate rice and curry, boiled rice and meat. They also eat beef in India, except in areas where the cow is sacred and the Hindu religion is practiced. The bread that Fr. Jacob found here was different than those in India. He remembered that it was a wheat bread called chapati. Chapati is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent and a staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and the Caribbean. According to the article by Mary Schaefer, Fr. Jacob loved spices. “We use many spices there. They use a lot of coconut. They have plenty of those.”
Along the coastline, people from India enjoyed eating the different fish. In fact, Fr. Jacob enjoyed eating shark, which he thought were great to eat.
Fr. Jacob Nedumkallal was bilingual, speaking Malayalam and English. His English is very good. He learned to speak it in high school and spoke it while in the seminary. “Sometimes I don’t get some of your slang words or the idioms. That is the only difficulty, maybe due to differences in pronunciation.”
“I started to school like someone in kindergarten here—six years old. Then we were sent to elementary school, primary for four years. Then high school for seven years,” said Fr. Jacob. “High school was followed by two years of minor seminary, three years of philosophy and four years of theology.” He was ordained in 1955.
“In 1955, I was appointed in different parishes,” he said. “One year assistant, then pastor. I was also teaching the novitiate for sisters until 1969. I was appointed in seminary as spiritual director and professor of theology. Theology is giving courses—spiritual exercises, prayer, meditations, self-understanding and the practice of virtues. Spiritual director means you give spiritual orientation and you discuss life problems and give conferences. It’s a way of counseling.”
Besides being bilingual, Fr. Jacob was also bi-ritual. He celebrated Mass in his Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar—and the Western, or Roman Rite. In the Rite-Syro-Malabar he said the Mass barefoot!
The Syro-Malabar Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. The Syro-Malabar Church is an autonomous church in full communion with the pope, according to Wikipedia. The Church traces its origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.
After three years in the United States, Fr. Jacob returned to India.