Thomson Philip's lucky chance to sit at the dining table with Pope Francis on July 26, 2013, during the World Youth Assembly at Rio de Janeiro transformed his life.
Randomly picked from 60,000 volunteers to sit with the Pope for lunch, Thomson recalled how the nun attending the Pope asked him, “What would you like to have: white wine or red wine?” The Pope replied “I want orange juice."
"As the Pope politely said 'no' to wine, I thought 'Why should I keep drinking?' That changed my life forever. Though I had been an alcoholic for years, I have not touched alcohol from that day,” the computer engineer Thomson Philip told Aleteia.
Thomson had gone to the Youth Assembly in Brazil as a volunteer from New Zealand where he was been based for three years since 2010 -- earning a Master's in Engineering and then working in the New Zealand government.
“After my life-changing encounter with the Pope, I pondered about what to do next. In 2014, I decided to return to my native homeland with new ideas,” Thomson recalled.
Back home in the Christian heartland of Kerala, India, Thomson registered the name ELOIT, adding the T from his first name to the biblical word Eloi ("my God"). In 2015, he launched the Eloit Foundation to reach out to youth and students through counseling, besides providing Information Technology (IT) service for steady income. Soon his IT enterprise was renamed Eloit Innovations.
A big IT company today
Over the years, Thomson has turned the enterprise into a big IT company with nearly 100 staff - most of them Catholics and computer engineers -- with two corporate offices at the IT hub of Kakkanad near Kochi, commercial capital of Kerala.
“October 2022 was another crucial occasion in my life when I launched BibleOn – the digital Bible application. We have already uploaded the whole (Catholic) Bible in 36 languages in text and audio format. In some languages, the audio work is not complete yet. The digital application is accessed by over 10,000 people daily across the world,” Thomson elaborated during an interview with this correspondent in his office, decorated with Catholic icons and Bible passages, as well as his photo with Pope Francis.
“Those who cannot read or those who are bedridden can just listen to whichever part of the Bible once the app is installed. My sick mother-in-law used to spend the whole day listening to the Bible audio version in Malayalam (mother tongue of Kerala). It also provides the option to share Bible passages with others in the style each one would prefer,” Thomson explained, noting the salient features of BibleOn.
"From the beginning, I decided that this work will be done without seeking any donation. So, the entire digital Bible work-through is done with half a dozen full time staff along with my IT staff taking care of the technical aspects,” pointed out Thomson, who is married to Minu, a medical doctor; the couple have three children.
After violence engulfed Manipur state in north-east India in May 2023, causing over 50,000 Kuki Christians to be chased out by majority ethnic Meiteis (along with 10,000 Meiteis from Kuki strongholds), Thomson said his team prioritized the Kuki Bible and it was uploaded to BibleOn. He brought Kuki experts to Kerala to record the entire Bible in the Kuki language, which took six months.
Thomson explained that the digital voices are done using AI (artificial intelligence). While most of the completed languages are Indian, the digital Bible is available in Chinese, as well as major European languages such as French, German, Italian, and Spanish, along with English.
The 38-year-old was honored by the Catholic Church of India at the annual Christmas celebration organized by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India in New Delhi on December 23. Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived as the chief guest for the occasion, Thomson was congratulated by CBCI officials in the presence of five cardinals of India.
Acknowledging and appreciating Thomson’s innovative dedicated service with the digital Bible, CBCI has already linked the Digital Bible app to the CBCI website, connecting it under Holy Bible (on the right).
