Archdiocese of Nagpur

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nagpur is a Latin Rite Metropolitan archdiocese in central India, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Its cathedral episcopal see is St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, in the city of Nagpur, in Maharashtra state.

WWW nagpurarchdiocese.org

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 25,500 Catholics on 59,042 km² in 34 parishes and 12 missions with 142 priests, 798 lay religious and 23 seminarians.

History

Established on July 11, 1887, as Diocese of Nagpur, on territory split off from the Diocese of Vizagapatam.
It lost territories repeatedly : on 1932.07.18 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Jubbulpore, on 1935.03.11 to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Indore, on 1951.06.14 to establish the Diocese of Sambalpur and on 1951.12.13 to establish the then Diocese of Raigarh–Ambikapur
Promoted on September 19, 1953, as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nagpur.
Lost more territories thrice again : on 1955.05.08 to establish its suffragan Diocese of Amravati, on 1964.01.16 to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Raipur and ''on 1968.07.29 to establish the then Apostolic Exarchate of Chanda ''

Ecclesiastical province

Its ecclesiastical province comprises the Metropolitan's own archbishopric and these Suffragan bishoprics, Latin Rite except one Syro-Oriental Rite:

Roman Catholic Diocese of Amravati, its daughter
Roman Catholic Diocese of Aurangabad
''Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chanda, its only Eastern Catholic daughter''

Episcopal ordinaries

Charles-Félix Pelvat, Fransalians
Jean-Marie Crochet
Etienne-Marie Bonaventure, M.S.F.S.
François-Etienne Coppel, M.S.F.S.
Louis-François Gayet, M.S.F.S.
Eugene D’Souza, M.S.F.S.

;Metropolitan Archbishops of Nagpur

Eugene D’Souza, M.S.F.S., later Metropolitan Archbishop of Bhopal
Leonard Joseph Raymond, previously Bishop of Allahabad
Leobard D’Souza, also vice-president of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India ; previously Titular Bishop of Caput Cilla & Coadjutor Bishop of Jabalpur, succeeding as Bishop of Jabalpur
* Auxiliary Bishop: Sylvester Monteiro, Titular Bishop of Scampa ; next Bishop of suffragan Aurangabad
Abraham Viruthakulangara, previously Bishop of Khandwa .
Elias Joseph Gonsalves – 2018.12.03 – present

Saints and causes for canonisation

Servant of God Sr. Marie Gertrude Gros, SMMI