headed by Prior General's from outside the congregation (Bishops) and their delegates from 1885 to 1902. It was from then that head of each monastery was called Prior. The title Prior General was used for the elected member who headed the Congregation. In 1902, the General Chapter convened by Bishop Bernard, the Prior General was directed by the Holy See to elect the Prior General from within the Congregation. Thus Alexander Kattakayam was elected Prior General. The practice of electing Prior Generals from among the members of Congregation continues till date. The final approbation for Constitution was received in 1906. The congregation was divided into three provinces in 1953. The current name Carmelites of Mary Immaculate was received in 1958. The congregation was raised to one of pontifical right in 1967 by Pope Paul VI. Founders of the Congregation Thomas Palackal (1775-1841) The senior most among the three founders was Palackal Thoma who concurred on the idea of starting a religious congregation and shared his vision to his close friend Thomas Porukara and his beloved protégé Kuriakose Chavara. Thomas Palackal was ordained priest in 1807. He was involved in the training and formation of the priests as a Malpan (professor of sacred sciences) of the Church. He led a very ascetical life, dedicated to penance, prayer and study. He lived a community life with his students, joining them in their spiritual exercises and sitting with them for study. What he had in mind as a spiritual ideal was a sort of Dominican way of life. The Dominican spirit was understood as to teach and proclaim what has been learned from sacred reading, subjecting it to deep meditation, or to study, prayer and teaching (Contemplata praedicare). Since books on theology, scripture and morals were not available in Syriac and Malayalam he collected Tamil books on these topics and copied them down, studied and translated a few of them into Malayalam. Palackal died on 16 January 1841 at the age of 66 and was buried in the parish church at Pallipuram. Thomas Porukara (1799-1846) Porukara was ordained on 22 September 1823. In his priestly ministry in the parish, he made earnest effort to renew the life of the people in the parish. He set apart the Saturdays for the destitute and other homeless beggars to help them in their material deprivation and to give them spiritual guidance and sacramental assistance. It was