Belonging to the Discalced Carmelites of the Manjummel province in Kerala, Papali was known for his scholarship in Christian as well as Indian theologies and wrote a number of books on these subjects.

Cyril Bernard Papali was born in Kara, in the south Indian state of Kerala[citation needed] on 26 September 1902.

Eventually, he became the Prior General of the Congregation, a position he held until 1950, when he was called to Rome where he taught Hinduism at the Pontifical Urban University.

[citation needed] Papali wrote several books and articles in the fields of theology, philosophy and religion.

His book, Hinduism: Religion and Philosophy is considered by many scholars as a classical work in Latin language written by an Indian.