De Paul Institute of Management Development

Vincentian Congregation

The Vincentian Congregation is a clerical society in the Syro-Malabar Church with its Generalate at Edappally in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. It comes under the category of the Societies of Common Life according to the manner of religion. It is of Pontifical right. The congregation was founded on 20 November 1904 as a Koventha at Thottakom by Fr. Varkey Kattarath, Vicar of Vaikom, with three diocesan priests, namely Frs. Joseph Kari Purayidam, Mani Parakulangara and Kusuma Chittezhath, with the approval of Mar Louis Pazheparampil, the first Vicar Apostolic of Er- nakulam (1896-1919), based on the Common Rules of St. Vincent de Paul, on the model of the Congregation of the Mission, founded by him in 1625.

As the members of the Koventha were asked now and then by the bishop to do pastoral work in different parishes for long, in spite of his formal instruction on 2 August 1912 to Fr. Varkey Kattarath took steps for a proper community life as per the Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission, all of them left Thottakom by 1915 for various reasons with the permission of the bishop who invited them to his diocese for starting the Koventha.

After some years, Rev. Frs. George Mannara, Antony Pauvathil and George Vattamkandathil expressed their desire to lead a religious life to Mar Augustine Kandathil, the then Archbishop of Ernakulam who directed them to revive the religious community once founded at Thottakom. Accordingly, they revived it and began the community life at Thottakom on 19 July 1927. Fr. Varkey Kattarath joined them at Thottakom in October 1927.

With the permission of the Archbishop he took the first vows on 20 July 1929 and perpetual vows on 19 July 1931, before his death on 24 October 1931. The Koventha at Thottakom was officially called the Vincentian Congregation in 1938 before the pioneer fathers took the first vows.

De Paul Education Trust

De Paul Education Trust (Reg.No:156/VI/SRO/Maradu) is a charitable trust owned by Marymatha Province of Vincentian Congregation. This trust is an undertaking of Vincentian Fathers who are committed to the integral development of people.

This congregation endeavors to achieve its mission of educational and economic development of the society by establishing and running schools, colleges, professional training institutions and technical training institutions in various parts of the country along with the Vincentian Houses. (These houses are the local unit of the congregation).

The objective of De Paul Education Trust is to render educational services to all, irrespective of class, caste, creed and community. Four of the institutions under the trust in the neighboring locality are De Paul computer academy (DCA), De Paul Institute of Science and Technology (DIST), Divine Institute of Media Science (DiMS), Goodness Institute of Film and Television (GIFT - Cochin), besides De Paul Institute of Management Development (De Paul IMD). De Paul IMD was started in 2004 under the De Paul Education Trust.