Ignatius Gonsalves Conferred Knighthood of the Order of St. Sylvester

Cochin 8 August 2026: Prof. Dr. Ignatius Gonsalves, senior journalist, media trainer, teacher and member of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, has been conferred the Knighthood of the Order of St. Sylvester by His Holiness Pope Leo, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Church and society.

The Order of St. Sylvester is one of the highest honours conferred by the Catholic Church on laypersons for distinguished service.

Prof. Dr. Gonsalves served for many years with Malayala Manorama. He also served as a professor at the Manorama School of Communication (MASCOM) and as President of the Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA), the all-India organisation of Catholic journalists and publishers.

He was the founding Chief Editor of Jeevanadam, the official newspaper of the Latin Catholic Church, and also served as Executive Editor and Chief News Director of Shekinah TV. He authored the first Malayalam biography of Pope Benedict XVI and has written numerous articles and books on Church history and journalism.

His contribution to journalism has been recognised with several awards. Among them, the Titus Brandsma Award, presented at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 1998, is particularly significant. The award is conferred every three years by the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP). Prof. Dr. Gonsalves is the only Asian to have received this distinction.

He is also among the few Indian journalists to have personally met four Popes. A noted Vatican expert, he has made significant contributions to Catholic journalism and communication over several decades.

Mr. Jose Antony Puthenveettil, a US-based NRI, has also been conferred the Knighthood of the Order of St. Sylvester.

By Catholic Connect Reporter