Diocese of Indore
| Diocese of Indore | |
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Metropolitan bishopric | Archdiocese of Bhopal |
| Diocesan bishop | Chacko Thottumarickal SVD |
| founding | 1952 |
| surface | 19,073 km² |
| Parishes | 21 (2006) |
| Residents | 4,514,518 (2006) |
| Catholics | 35,674 (2006) |
| proportion of | 0.8% |
| Diocesan priest | 25 (2006) |
| Religious priest | 51 (2006) |
| Catholics per priest | 469 |
| Friars | 69 (2006) |
| Religious sisters | 308 (2006) |
| rite | Roman rite |
| cathedral | St. Francis Assisi Cathedral |
| address | Bishop's House, 10 Old Sehore Road, PO Box 168, Indore 452001, MP, India |
| Website | http://www.indorediocese.org/ |
The Diocese of Indore ( Latin Dioecesis Indorensis ) is a Roman Catholic diocese located in India . It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Bhopal and today includes the districts of Indore , Dewas and Dhar of the state of Madhya Pradesh .
history
On March 3, 1931, the territory of Indore was formed from areas of the dioceses Ajmer , Allahabad and Nagpur and handed over to the Steyler missionaries . On December 14, 1932, the first Steyler missionaries, Father Peter Janser and his companion, Father Leo Krzeminski, arrived. Thanks to the efforts of both of them, the territory was raised to the Apostolic Prefecture of Indore after 3 years on March 11, 1935 and Peter Janser became the first Apostolic Prefect. At that time the territory covered 110,000 square kilometers and consisted of the districts of Indore, Khargone , Khandwa , Dhar, Jhabua (excluding the Tehsil Thandla ), Ratlam , Dewas, Ujjain , Shajapur , Rajgarh , Bhilsa ( Vidisha ), Hoshangabad and the entire state of Bhopal . Peter Janser held the post of Apostolic Prefect from July 11, 1935 until the end of 1945, when he resigned due to illness. Hermann Westermann became the new Apostolic Prefect in 1948 . On May 15, 1952, the Apostolic Prefecture was elevated to a diocese. The first bishop of Indore was Frans Simons SVD from the Netherlands . He was succeeded twenty years later by George M. Anathil SVD. Chacko Thottumarickal SVD has been Bishop of the Diocese of Indore since 2008 .
On September 13, 1963, the diocese lost the districts of Bhopal , Sehore , Vidisha and Hoshangabad, from which the Archdiocese of Bhopal was established. The next loss of territory took place in 1968 when the Ujjain Eparchy ( Syro-Malabar Church ) was built from the districts of Ujjain, Shajapur and Rajgarh . In 1977 the diocese of Khandwa was established from the districts of Khandwa and Khargone . In 1981 the diocese of Indore received the district of Mandsaur , which previously belonged to the diocese of Ajmer . Most recently, the diocese lost part of its territories on March 25, 2002, namely the districts of Jhabua, Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ratlam, from which the diocese of Jhabua emerged. Today's diocese of Indore consists of the districts of Indore, Dewas and Dhar.
Bishops of Indore
- Peter Janser (1935–1945) Apostolic Prefect
- Hermann Westermann (1948–1951) Apostolic Prefect
- Frans Simons (1952–1971)
- George M. Anathil (1972-2008)
- Chacko Thottumarickal (since 2008)