Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajmer

The Diocese of Ajmer is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Agra in northwestern India, yet still depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Its cathedral episcopal see is Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Ajmer, Rajasthan state.

WWW ajmerdiocese.com

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 9,980 Catholics on 146,690 km² in 10 parishes and 25 missions with 60 priests, 479 lay religious and 18 seminarians.

History

Established in 1890 as mission sui iuris of Rajputana, on colonial territory split off from its metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Agra
Promoted in 1891 as Apostolic Vicariate of Rajputana. At this date the district had only one mission station, Jaipur. Besides this, a Catholic priest resided at Ajmer in charge of a small community of Eurasians and Goans, and there were also stations for troops at Nasirabad, Neemuch, and Mhow, served by three military chaplains. After the arrival of French Capuchins, other stations were established at Ratlam, Thandla, Mariapur, Jhabua, Jhalrapatan, Parbatpura, and Bhawanikhera. The prefects were Bertram, 1892–1902, and Henry Fortunatus Caumont, from 1903.
22 May 1913: Promoted as Diocese of Ajmer
Lost territory on 1935.03.11 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Indore
Renamed on 13 May 1955 as Diocese of Ajmer–Jaipur
Lost territories repeatedly: on 1963.09.13 to establish the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bhopal, on 1973.04.03 to the Apostolic Exarchate of Sagar and on 1984.12.03 to establish the Diocese of Udaipur
Renamed on 20 July 2005 as Diocese of Ajmer

The Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur comprised twenty four districts, namely Ajmer, Alwar, Baran, Barmer, Bikaner, Bundi, Churu, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Karauli, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Sirohi, Sri Ganganagar and Tonk in the state of Rajasthan. In July, 1890 the Holy See detached a very large portion of the Archdiocese of Agra to form a new unit, the Rajasthan mission entrusting it to the Capuchin Fathers of the Paris Province who were to work under the supervision of the Archbishop. In December, 1891, the new mission became the Prefecture Apostolic of Rajputana and in 1913, Caumont was appointed the first bishop of Ajmer. On 11 March 1935, parts of the diocese which were in the state of Madhya Pradesh were detached to become part of the newly erected Prefecture Apostolic of Indore.

Ordinaries

;Suffragan Bishops of Ajmer

Fortunat-Henri Caumont, OFMCap
Mathurin-Pie Le Ruyet, OFMCap, emeritate as Titular Bishop of Alexandria minor
Guy-Léandre Le Floch, OFMCap
D’Mello

;Suffragan Bishop of Ajmer-Jaipur

D’Mello, died 1987

;Suffragan Bishops of Ajmer

Ignatius Menezes, later Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Allahabad
Pius Thomas D'Souza, no previous prelature
John Carvalho

Causes for canonisation

Fortunat-Henri Caumont, OFMCap, first prelate of the diocese of Ajmer

Attribution

; the entry cites:

Madras Catholic Directory, 1910;
FORTUNAT, Au Pays des Rajas.