Fr. James Manjackal - A Short Testimony

Fr. James Manjackal was born at Cheruvally in Kerala, South India, in 1946 and was ordained a priest in 1973 in the Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales. For one year he worked in the missions of Visakhapatnam but lacked confidence and the ability to preach effectively. Soon after this he was appointed a professor at a seminary in Ettumanoor, Kerala, but his addiction to cigarettes, his inferiority complex caused by childhood insecurities and his inability to preach the word of God with any authority or power hindered his spiritual progress. It is then that during a serious illness he met Jesus through the prayer of a young man who invoked the power of the Holy Spirit upon him. Immediately he was healed both within and without and he began preaching retreats all over the world.

He has faced various trials and sufferings during his many years dedicated to preaching, including being kidnapped by his own people, as well as several arrests and imprisonment in Gulf countries by non-believers. But in all these he strove to be a faithful and loyal servant of the Lord and His Church.

In 1989 Fr. James founded "Charis Bhavan", the well known Charismatic retreat centre in Kerala, where he remained as its director and superior for six years. The congregation of the missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales has made his service available for the universal Church.