Fr. Jacob Vellian

Priest of the Archeparchy of Kottayam, India, of the Syro-Malabar Church. Monsignor. Per a USCCB Advisory, Vellian was working in Kalamazoo on a temporary basis in 1973-1974. The Diocese said in Fall 2010 that it had recently received an allegation of sexual abuse of a female minor by Vellian. The Review Board concluded that the charges had merit. His accuser said she told the diocese in 2002, and that a priest walked in on them during an assault in 1973. Vellian had been in active ministry in various dioceses in the U.S. in the recent past. In 9/2011 he was said to be living in Kerala India’s Kottayam district, in a Kaduthuruthi seminary. Investigated by the MI Attorney General. Charged in 5/2019 with rape of a 15-year-old girl in the early 1970s. The Attorney General was to seek extradition from India. Vellian died in India in 12/2022. Included in 4/2024 on the Kalamazoo diocese’s list of those banned from working with children. Had been forbidden to function as a priest in the diocese.