Roman Catholic Diocese of Rourkela

Diocese of Rourkela
Dioecesis Rurkelaënsis
राउरकेला के सूबा

Interior of Sacred Heart Church Hamirpur (New Church), Rourkela
Location
Country India
Ecclesiastical province Cuttack–Bhubaneswar
Metropolitan Cuttack–Bhubaneswar
Statistics
Area 9,675 km2 (3,736 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2013)
20,00,000
2,42,126 (12.10%%)
Information
Rite Latin Rite
Established 4 July 1979
Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral, Rourkela
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Kishore Kumar Kujur
Metropolitan Archbishop John Barwa SVD
Emeritus Bishops Alphonse Bilung SVD Bishop Emeritus (1979-2009)

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rourkela (Latin: Rurkelaën(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Rourkela in the Ecclesiastical province of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in India.

History

The new diocese of Rourkela is bounded on the north by Archdiocese of Ranchi and on the South by the diocese of Sambalpur to the west and the north-west lies the diocese of Raigarh, while the diocese of Jamshedpur and Balasore lie to the east and South-East.

Jesuit Missionaries began evangelization of this part of the Chotanagpur Mission, Fr Constant Livens (1856–1893) being the most prominent among them. After the Second World War, the Jesuits faced two major problems - personnel and finance. They, therefore, requested the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) who had been working in the neighbouring states of Central India since 1932, to take up the Gangpur Mission in Northern Orissa. The SVDs set their feet in this mission land in 1948. The Late Bishop Herman Westermann, SVD, who had several years of experience in Central India, was ordained the first Bishop of Sambalpur in 1951. During his tenure as well as that of Bishop Raphael Cheenath, SVD (1974–1979), mission work in this ecclesiastical territory progressed in leaps and bounds.

Rt. Rev. Alphonse Billung, S.V.D. was appointed the first Bishop of Rourkela on November 3, 1979. Today the Diocese of Rourkela owes a lot to the relentless zeal and indefatigable labour of these eminent personalities, and their co - Missionaries - Priests, Brothers, Sisters, Lay people, generous benefactors and all well-wishers.

Leadership

Parishes

Sacred Heart Church Hamirpur (Old Church), Rourkela

There are 42 parishes in the Diocese of Rourkela.

References