would be beneficial to the Church and that it would have positive ecumenical effects. Death He died suddenly from a massive heart attack on 1 April 2011. He had suffered from prolonged heart problems for some time and died about 2:00 pm of sudden and irreversible cardiac arrest from the heart attack at Lisie Hospital in Ernakulam, where he had been hurriedly taken after fainting while celebrating Mass at noon in his chapel in the Major Archbishop's house, in Ernakulam. The funeral was held on 10 April 2011 at St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam. Works The Origin and Progress of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy, Thesis, Angelicum, 1959. Published: Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India, 1980. Straight From the Heart, autobiography and opinions in the form of an extended interview, 2009. Further reading Official biography at Archdiocese of Ernakulam Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Catholic Hierarchy Notes 1927 births 2011 deaths Malayali people People from Ernakulam district Redemptorists Redemptorist cardinals Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Syro-Malabar Catholic Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly Indian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II