Who are We?

As many of our parents arrived in America in the 1970's, they began to set up individual Knanaya units in the cities in which they lived. As the children of the first generation of Knanaya parents grew older, the need for an organization to promote and teach these children about the Knanaya culture arose. The solution was the Knanaya Catholic Youth League of North America, or KCYLNA. 

In the Kottayam Diocese, each and every forane has its own KCYL unit. A forane can be described as a group of churches. Presently, there are 11 foranes, they are: Kottayam, Kaduthuruthy, Uzhavoor, Kaizpuzha, Chungam, Kidangoor, Padamugham, Rajapuram, Madampam, Perikalloor, & Malankara. 

Thus in North America, the Knanaya youth are separated according to the place where they live. On November 27, 1994, under the leadership of KCYL Chicago and Fr. Cyriac Manthurithil (then spiritual director of the Knanaya Catholic Society of Chicago), KCYLNA was formed as the head organization of the individual KCYL units throughout North America. Robin Elackatt was elected President of KCYLNA. Through much hard work and dedication KCYLNA conducted its first national convention on July 1,2,3, 1995 in Chicago. The convention was a success. Approximately 250 youths from across the US joined in Chicago under the banner of KCYLNA.

Since its inception, KCYLNA has grown strongly.  It held its second convention in Houston, Texas in the summer of 1997 under the leadership of Joyce Chacko Palakatt.  The third convention was held under the leadership of Jimmy Vachachira in New York.  Plans are underway for the fourth convention, to be held in Los Angeles in 2003.

 KCYLNA awarded it's first biannual scholarships in 1998 to Joby Mathew and Alin Abraham from Chicago. 

Also the first retreat was held in 1998 in Chicago, the second was in 1999 in Tampa, and the third was held in Chicago in winter of 2001. 

Currently, there are 9 local units. They are KCYL Atlanta, KCYL Central Florida, KCYL Chicago, KCYL Dallas, KCYL Houston, KCYL Los Angeles, KCYL New York, KCYL Northern California, and KCYL South Florida.