Reverend Mathai Thomas Kunnel

To live stream Fr. Tom's funeral Mass click the "Tribute Wall" tab above and then click watch now on the "Live Webcast". Or copy and paste the following link in your web browser: https://vimeo.com/432964704 Reverend Mathai Thomas Kunnel, 60, passed from this earthly life to eternal rest the evening of June 24, 2020. A visitation will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with Rosary at 1:30 PM and prayer service at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, 2020 at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines, Iowa. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 29, 2020 at St. Ambrose Cathedral. Due to current gathering guidelines, you are encouraged to attend the visitation on Sunday and live stream the Mass on Monday. To live stream the Mass go to Fr. Tom’s Tribute Wall page on Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home & Crematory’s website, www.caldwellparrish.com. All persons are expected to wear facemasks or shields. Kunnel was born on September 14, 1959 in Kottayam, India to K.M. Thomas and Thresiamma Thomas. He was one of seven children. At the age of 15, Kunnel traveled 4,000 miles to Ranchi, India to enter the seminary. He was ordained a priest of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, Province of India, on December 26, 1988. Prior to coming to the United States in 2002, Father Kunnel served in six areas throughout India. In order to minister effectively to the tribal communities in northern India, he learned four additional languages. He also served as principal of a high school, youth director, and secretary to the Archbishop of Ranchi. During this period of ministry in India, he also completed three Master’s degree programs, in Theology, History, and Comparative Religions. He gave retreats for Saint Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionary of Charity community in Calcutta. In December 2001, the Superior of his religious community sent Father Kunnel to the United States to serve as a missionary. This led to gaining more proficiency in English, before being placed in ministry in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. There, he served three parish communities between 2002 and 2011: Parochial Vicar of the Church of the Epiphany, Parochial Vicar of St. John the Baptist, and Pastor of Immaculate Conception. Soon after his arrival in the Twin Cities, he met Bishop Richard Pates, retired bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines, then an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Their friendship would eventually lead Father Kunnel to come to the Diocese of Des Moines in 2011. In the Diocese of Des Moines, Father Kunnel served as Pastor of St. Mary, Red Oak and St. Patrick, Imogene from 2011 to 2017; and Pastor of St. Mary, Guthrie Center, St. Patrick, Bayard, and St. Cecilia, Panora from 2017 until his death. Father Kunnel became a priest of the Diocese of Des Moines in 2015. Father Kunnel will be remembered for his courageous and joyful spirit, even in the face of the grave health condition that lead to his death, as well as for the support and friendship he provided to many and the absolute dedication that he gave to his priesthood and people of God. Father Kunnel served the diocese as secretary of the Presbyteral Council. He is survived by his six siblings and a number of nephews and nieces. He is also survived by his cousin and best friend, Shaji Joseph Puth and wife Lucy and their two daughters. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Thomas and Thresiamma. Memorial contributions may be made to one of the parishes he served or the Priest’s Pension Fund.