Gallela Prasad

His Excellency
G. Prasad
Bishop of Cuddapah
Church Roman Catholic
See Cuddapah
In office 31 January 2008 – present
Predecessor D. M. Prakasam
Successor Incumbent
Orders
Ordination 1 March 1989, Adoni
Consecration 1 March 2008
Personal details
Born 7 April 1962
Adoni, Andhra Pradesh
Previous post Professor of Christian Doctrine, St. John's Regional Seminary, Kothavalasa

G. Prasad (born 7 April 1962) is the fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuddapah, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.[1]

St. Mary's Cathedral (built in 1934 in the Gothic style) in Kadapa is the seat of the Bishop of Cuddapah.[2]

Earlier, Prasad was a Roman Catholic clergyman who served as a priest in the diocese of Kurnool soon after his ordination in 1989.[3]

The Bishop is well versed in Latin as well as Telugu and English.

Motto

Ego sum Pastor bonus:[4] I am the good shepherd.

Much before the consecration of Bishop Prasad, he seems to have decided on the motto 'The Lord is my strength and I trust in Him[4] Compare Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts;.....[5]

Early years

Prasad was born into a family of teachers in Adoni in Andhra Pradesh as the fourth[6] and youngest[7] child. Smt. Mariamma and Sri Jojappa were his parents.[6] He went to school in his hometown, and later joined St. Pius Minor Seminary in Kurnool[8] for a year's course.[6]

Divinity

As part of pre-divinity studies, he left for St. John's Regional Seminary(a regional philosophate of the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh established in 1982 and managed by the Salesians of Don Bosco), Kondadaba, Visakhapatnam and pursued philosophy.[6] Subsequently, he pursued theology[4] at the St. John's Regional Seminary in Ramanthapur, Hyderabad.

Ordination & Pastorship

On 1 March 1989, Prasad was ordained priest for the Catholic Diocese of Kurnool by Bishop Matthew Cheriankunnel, the second Bishop of Kurnool who served from 18 January 1988 to 16 July 1991, in Adoni.[6]

After his ordination, Prasad served as a Youth Services Director of the diocese of Kurnool from 1989 to 1993[6] as well as a warden for St. Mary's Junior College, Kurnool.[4] from 1989 to 1990.

In 1990, he became a parish priest[4] in Koilakunta[6][9] and continued till 1995.

He also served as Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary from 1993 to 1995.[6]

Higher Studies & Research

From 1995 to 1999 Prasad studied in Rome, Italy. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum where he earned the Doctorate of Sacred Theology.[4][8] His thesis was entitled Christian Charity as Witnessed by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.[10]

In the year 1999, on successful completion of his studies, he was awarded the degree of DTh by the University.[6]

Pastoral ministry

On returning to India in 1999, he was Pastor in St. John's Church, Uppaladadiya[9] till 2000.[6]

Later, he was sent abroad to North America in 2000 to the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas and assigned a pastoral ministry.[6]

Professorship

In 2004,[6] he was recalled to India and made Spiritual Director and Professor of Christian Doctrine in the St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate) in Kothavalasa, Visakhapatnam.[4]

Bishopric

Appointment

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Prasad as Bishop of Cuddapah on 31 January 2008.[11] Prasad chose to be consecrated on 1 March 2008, the same date as he was ordained as a priest in 1989.[4]

M. Joji, the Archbishop of Hyderabad principally consecrated Prasad while the Most Rev. K. Mariadas, Archbishop of Visakhapatnam and the Most Rev. D. M. Prakasam, Bishop of Nellore were the co-consecrators[12] at the St. Mary's Old Cathedral Grounds, Mariapuram, Cuddapah on 1 March 2008.[13] Almost all the Catholic Bishops of the Andhra region took part in the consecration. Amongst the ecumenical invitees who was seated alongside the newly consecrated Bishop was K. B. Yesuvaraprasad, the Church of South India's Bishop of Rayalaseema.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Catholic Hierarchy, Bishop Prasad
  2. ↑ Frontline, December 22, 2007, volume 24, issue 25
  3. ↑ Sathyadeepam Fortnightly, 16–29 February 2008, Volume 5 / 6, pp. 3 & 12, Ernakulam, Kerala. RNI 3005/57
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 His Voice, Newsletter of the Diocese of Cuddapah (for private circulation only), Volume 28, April 2008, Issue 4
  5. ↑ The Holy Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, Thomas Nelson for Theological Publications in India, Bangalore, 1999
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kurnool Vani, Newsletter of the Kurnool Diocese, Volume XXI, Number 3, March 2008
  7. ↑ His Voice, Newsletter of the Diocese of Cuddapah (for private circulation only), Volume 28, March 2008, Issue 3
  8. 1 2 Vatican Radio, The voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue with the world, 31 January 2008
  9. 1 2 Amruthavani Communications Centre, Hyderabad, Brief History of the Diocese of Kurnool
  10. ↑ Gallela Prasad, Christian Charity as Witnessed by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 1999.
  11. ↑ Vatican Radio, op. cit.
  12. ↑ Consecration invitation card of Bishop Prasad, Diocese of Cuddapah
  13. ↑ The Hindu, Sunday, 2 March 2008, Andhra Pradesh, Prasad sworn in as Kadapa Bishop
  14. ↑ Anglican Communion diocese page for Rayalseema
Religious titles
Preceded by
D. M. Prakasam		 Bishop of Cuddapah
31 January 2008 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

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