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BLOOMINGDALE—A trained pastoral counselor and licensed family therapist, Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Father Mathew Maniampra, parochial vicar at St. Isidore Parish in Bloomingdale, is the writer of three books that explore physiology, psychology and spirituality.

The priest’s personal mission is helping others identify and appreciate the connection between faith and health through his understanding of religion and the makeup of the human mind and body.

Originally from Kerala in southwestern India, the 51-year-old clergyman who has lived in the United States since 1998, talked with the Catholic Explorer Feb. 16 at his parish office about using his talents to assist others. “I want to share my vision. I feel I have to help people.”

Father Maniampra said he strives to show others how to integrate principles of philosophy and physiology to enable them to “live more meaningful” lives.

Published in June 2006, Father Maniampra’s latest book, “Optimum Health and Healing: Balancing Mind, Body and Spirit,” delves into the notion that people can feel a greater sense of optimism and hope while battling heart disease and diabetes among other health problems by focusing more energy on their religious beliefs.

Over the years, the priest said he has concluded that conventional science lacks open-mindedness. “Authentic healing” of a given person cannot fully occur unless all dimensions, including spiritual factors, are addressed and remedied, he said.

According to Father Maniampra, the spiritual guidance that someone receives during Mass “is not enough” to optimize that person’s faith. He often encourages people to concentrate on their religious beliefs in order to achieve healing.

A regular spiritual advisor and confidant for patients at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village and Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield among other suburban medical facilities, Father Maniampra said his willingness to help others heal stems from his religious order’s emphasis on caring for people.

Based in Father Maniampra’s home state of Kerala, the clergyman’s religious order promotes education and evangelization across the world. “We are everywhere,” he said. Approximately 100 Indian priests of the community are currently serving the faithful across the United States. The members focus on prayer and outreach. “It’s an active contemplative order,” Father Maniampra said, stressing that members are responsible for the 100 percent literacy rate in Kerala.

The community’s emphasis on evangelizing people through information-sharing and education worked to trigger the priest’s interest in writing. He explained that he would pen spiritual articles for the order’s newspaper, The Light. He then began publishing more of his ideas in religious magazines in India while he performed his priestly duties, he said.

Earning a master’s degree in family therapy in 1992, Father Maniampra was appointed pastor of St. Thomas Mission in Calicut, India.

In 1998, Father Maniampra became a missionary priest, traveling to the Archdiocese of New York. For three years, the man of God served at faith communities in the metropolitan area before coming to serve as associate pastor at St. James the Apostle Parish in Glen Ellyn.

Father Maniampra was assigned to St. Isidore Parish in 2001. “It’s a very vibrant parish and beautifully organized,” he said of the sprawling Du Page County parish.

As a parish priest, Father Maniampra continues to help people through counseling and spiritual direction, he said. In the meantime, he acknowledged that his books allow him to spread his message across the globe.

With no plans to write another book at this time, Father Maniampra emphasized that when an idea comes “deep down in me,” he will undoubtedly begin plans to pen another manuscript. “People can have greater health, if they are informed,” he added, talking about why he continues his writing.

“He’s a brilliant man,” said Rosemary Vercruysse, a member of St. James the Apostle Parish, talking about her friend and spiritual mentor during a telephone interview with the Explorer. “He’s always willing to meet new people and offer some sort of encouragement,” she said.

Vercruysse said that she could personally attest to the validity of Father Maniampra’s holistic approach to healing. Two years ago, she contracted viral encephalitis, an infection in her brain. For four days, the perplexed woman didn’t recognize anyone around her, including her family members.

Spending nearly a month in the hospital, Vercruysse was treated with medication for the infection as she worked to regain her motor skills through physical rehabilitation.

While she admitted that medical science played a crucial part, Vercruysse said she also credits her reliance on prayer and the meditation techniques she learned from Father Maniampra for her full recovery.

Father Maniampra “is a very holy man. He’s an inspiration to me,” Vercruysse said.