Pope Leo XIV, the new pope, visited Augustinian School at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu KOCHI: The quaint town of Aluva in Ernakulam, Kerala, holds a special place in the heart of newly elected Pope Leo XIV . Nearly 20 years after his visit to the state, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost - elected Pope on Thursday - fondly recalled waking up to the view of Periyar river from the Augustinian house in Mariyapuram, Aluva, during a conversation with Fr Wilson Injarapu, regional vicar of the Augustinian Order in India in Feb this year. Operation Sindoor PM Modi meets NSA, chiefs of armed forces amid spike in tensions with Pak India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan Several airports in India to be closed till May 15 - check list Prevost visited Kerala twice, in 2004 and 2006, while serving as prior general of Order of St Augustine (OSA).
Wilson was a student when he met Prevost. "After meeting him in Kochi in 2006, nearly two decades passed before I saw him again in Feb. Yet he clearly remembered his visit and asked me about our community in Kerala.
On both occasions he stayed at the house in Aluva for nearly a week," he said. For Prevost, Kerala is synonymous with greenery and natural beauty, Wilson said. "He told us he remembered enjoying the greenery and river view as soon as he woke up," he said, adding that Prevost led a simple life and relished the local cuisine with his fellow brothers at the house.
During his first visit in 2004, Prevost attended.