Rev. Fr George Kuttickal MCBS was a zealous Eucharistic priest and a prophetic apostle of mercy, best known as the founder of “Friends of Birds of the Air” (FBA), one of the most significant Catholic charitable networks for the destitute in India. His life beautifully united intense Eucharistic devotion with a tireless, organized love for the poorest and most abandoned, especially the mentally ill and street dwellers.​

Early life and priestly formation

Rev. Fr George Kuttickal was born on 11 January 1950 at Karuvatta in Alappuzha district, Kerala, as the second son of late P. C. Joseph and Thresiamma Kuttickal. He grew up in a devout Catholic family, where faith, simplicity and concern for the poor helped to shape his vocation to the priesthood.​

Drawn by a special love for the Eucharist, he joined the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCBS) on 3 June 1967 and began his formation at Lisieux Minor Seminary, Athirampuzha. Under holy and disciplined superiors, he completed his novitiate and made his first religious profession on 11 June 1970, committing himself to a life as a Eucharistic religious.​

Studies and ordination

Fr George pursued his philosophical and theological studies at St Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, where he was known for his deep Eucharistic piety and missionary zeal. He strove to keep his love for the Eucharistic Lord at the centre of his intellectual and spiritual formation.​

He made his perpetual profession on 17 May 1975, becoming a full-time Eucharistic missionary in the MCBS Congregation. On 15 May 1977 he was ordained a priest by the late Bishop Sebastian Mankuzhikkary, thus beginning a priestly life totally dedicated to the altar and to the poorest of God’s children.​

Early ministries in MCBS

After ordination, Fr George served in various responsibilities entrusted to him by the Congregation. He worked as assistant parish priest in St Raphael’s Cathedral Church, Palakkad, where he showed special concern for the poor and the neglected.​

He also rendered service as vocation promoter and procurator, contributing to the growth and administration of the Congregation. As a member of the Eucharistic retreat preaching team, he travelled widely, and he is remembered as one of the pioneers of Eucharistic retreats in the history of the Catholic Church in Kerala.​

The decisive inspiration at Bharatpur

A turning point in Fr George’s life came during a visit in 1983 to the Bharatpur bird sanctuary in Rajasthan. There he saw naturalists and staff lovingly caring for migrating Siberian birds, carefully naming, numbering and keeping medical records for each of them before they flew back to their homeland.​

This sight of meticulous care for birds of the air became for him a moment of deep divine inspiration. He was reminded of the countless abandoned human beings lying on the streets—mentally ill, destitute and forgotten—who are much more precious in God’s eyes than the birds of the air. From that moment, a new path of radical compassion began to take shape in his heart.​

Founding of Friends of Birds of the Air (FBA)

Moved by this inspiration, Fr George founded Friends of Birds of the Air (FBA) on 6 August 1993 as a concrete expression of Eucharistic love for the most abandoned. The name itself reflects the Gospel image of the birds of the air cared for by divine providence, applied to the neglected people on the streets.​

The first FBA centre was opened at Chennaipara in Thrissur district on 18 January 1994, and it was solemnly inaugurated by St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a providential confirmation of this new charism of mercy. From that humble beginning, FBA gradually spread to many parts of India, and is described today as one of the greatest humanitarian organizations giving shelter and care to vast numbers of abandoned people.​

Growth of the mission and ECC

Through FBA, Fr George and his collaborators rescued, sheltered and rehabilitated thousands of destitute persons: the mentally ill, the homeless, those with addictions, behavioural problems or suicidal tendencies. The centers offered food, treatment, spiritual care and a family atmosphere to those rejected by society.​

To ensure stable, consecrated service for these beneficiaries, Fr George founded the Eucharistic Covenant Community (ECC) on 25 December 1997. This community of men and women dedicates their whole lives, inspired by the Eucharist, to the service of the residents in various FBA centres throughout the country.​

“Dial Before You Die” and special ministries

Fr George’s compassionate creativity led him also to begin “DOB – Dial Before You Die”, a ministry for those in severe crisis or tempted to suicide. Through this initiative and related outreach, many people struggling with depression, addictions and family problems could find timely help and hope.​

He continuously travelled, begged, preached and organized to sustain the mission, often calling others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest and most disturbed. His life became a living homily on mercy flowing from the Eucharistic Lord.​

Spirituality and character

Fr George Kuttickal is remembered as a deeply Eucharistic priest whose prayer before the Blessed Sacrament nourished all his daring works of charity. His spirituality united contemplation and action: long hours with the Eucharistic Jesus and long journeys in search of the destitute on the streets.​

Many recall his unusual spiritual aura, simplicity, prophetic courage and tender compassion toward those whom society considered “gutter people”. Within the MCBS and the wider Church in Kerala, he is recognized as a pioneer of Eucharistic retreats and a powerful witness to mercy in action.​

Final years and holy death

The relentless pace of his mission, combined with his total self-giving, eventually affected his health, and he suffered from liver disease in his later years. Even while undergoing treatment, his heart remained with the poor and with the communities he had founded.​

Fr George Kuttickal passed away in the early hours of 20 December 2017 at Mar Vallah Ashram, Malayattoor, at the age of 67, surrounded by confreres and members of the Eucharistic Covenant Community. The MCBS Congregation, FBA and ECC gratefully remember him as a true Eucharistic missionary and “friend of the birds of the air”, who spent his life so that the most abandoned children of God might live with dignity and hope.