Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871) was a spiritual colossal figure who always went ahead of his times. His contributions to the Church and the society at large demonstrate his multifaceted personality like a spiritual leader of the Catholics in the Syro-Malabar Church, and a social reformer of his times. Fondly called as “Chavara-Achan” he was a pioneer of Indian Renaissance, especially through the popularizing of public education across Kerala, for all children irrespective of caste, creed and community through his novel concept of “Pallikoodam” attached to every parish-church. He was also a distinguished poet, chronicler, architect of a magna carta of family life, and a trendsetter in several fields like pastoral drama in Malayalam and vernacular print media. His achievements and attempts carry equal weight. The ventures that he started and left unfinished have been taken up and completed by others who came after him. Today, the legacy of St Chavara continues through the ministries of the congregations, he himself founded, CMI and CMC.