Gloom has spread over the archdiocese of Tellicherry in Kerala after one of its young priests died of electrocution on August 15. Father Mathew (Shince) Kudilil was dismantling a pole erected to hoist the national flag in the morning as part of the Independence Day celebration in the premises of Infant Jesus Church at Mulleria in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. After the mandatory lowering of the flag at sunset, the 29-year-old priest was removing the pole when it accidentally touched a high-tension electrical line passing near the church premises. He was declared brought dead at a hospital in Mulleria, a village on the Kerala-Karnataka border and some 70 km south of Mangalore. Father Kudilil was ordained a priest three years ago. He came to Mulleria on May 14, 2023. He had earlier served as the assistant vicar at St George Church, Chempanthotty in Kannur district from February 6, 2021, to January 25, 2022. He was the assistant vicar of St Sebastian’s Church Nellickampoil, also in Kannur, until February 3, 2023. He was in Fathima Matha Church, Kudiyanmala, Kannur, for three months.