Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar
| Diocese of Kottar Dioecesis Kottarensis கோட்டாறு மறைமாவட்டம் | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral of St Francis Xavier, The Mother Church of the Diocese | |
| Location | |
| Country |
 India |
| Ecclesiastical province | Madurai |
| Metropolitan | Madurai |
| Coordinates | 8°11′00.9″N 77°24′42.7″E / 8.183583°N 77.411861°ECoordinates: 8°11′00.9″N 77°24′42.7″E / 8.183583°N 77.411861°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,665 km2 (643 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 1,720,250 477,174 (27.7%) |
| Parishes | 170 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 26 May 1930 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St Francis Xavier in Kottar |
| Patron saint | St. Francis Xavier |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | His Holiness Francis |
| Bishop | Nazarene Soosai |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Antony Pappusamy |
| Vicar General | Solomon S |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar (Latin: Kottaren(sis), Tamil: கோட்டாறு மறைமாவட்டம்) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Madurai, southern India[1]yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Its episcopal see is Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier at Kottar in the town of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. It was built by St. Francis Xavier in 1544 AD, rebuilt in 1603 over the small chapel original chapel, expanded in both 1713 and 1806.[2]
Antecedents
The Kottar parish was a constituent of Malabar Vicariate since 1657 AD and came under Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly.[3] Again it became the southern center of Diocese of Quilon at its erection in 1853 AD.
- Devasahayam Pillai, a lay martyr of the christian faith, was born (1712 AD) and martyred (1752 AD) here.[4]
History
- Established on 26 May 1930 as Diocese of Kottar / Kottaren(sis) (Latin), on territory split off from the Diocese of Quilon.[5]
- Due to linguistic reasons as per reorganization of States, Kottar diocese was formally detached from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly (in Kerala) and made suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madurai (Tamil Nadu) instead in 1963.[3]
- Lost territory on 2014.12.22 to establish the Diocese of Kuzhithurai.
Episcopal Ordinaries
- Suffragan Bishops of Kottar
(all Roman Rite natives)
- ?Aloysius Benziger
- Lorenzo (Lawrence) Pereira (May 26, 1930 – death January 7, 1938)
- Thomas Roch Agniswami, Society of Jesus (S.J.) (5 January 1939 – retired 23 November 1970), died 1974
- Marianus Arokiasamy (23 November 1970 – 3 July 1987), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Madurai (India) (1987.07.03 – retired 2003.03.22), also Vice-President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (1991 – 1993 & 1994 – 1996), President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (1997 – 1999), died 2007
- Leon Augustine Tharmaraj (14 November 1988 – death 16 January 2007)
- Peter Remigius (30 June 2007 – retired 20 May 2017.05.20), previously Bishop of Kumbakonam (India) (1989.11.10 – 2007.06.30)
- Nazarene Soosai (2017.05.20 – ...), nor previous prelature
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 260,484 Catholics (29.4% of 885,865 total) on 750 km² in 81 parishes with 230 priests (193 diocesan, 37 religious), 556 lay religious (88 brothers, 468 sisters) and 89 seminarians.
Its oldest churches are the cathedral and Amalagiri church, dedicated to Mother Mary in Thiruvithancode built by Thomas the Apostle in 57 AD.[7], also called Thiruvithamcode Arappally which is, however, under the administration of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church at present.
See also
References
- ↑ Cheney, David M. "Madurai (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "St. Francis Xavier's footprints across the country". The Hindu. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Diocese of Kottar". www.kottardiocese.org. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "INDIA A gift for the Year of Faith: the beatification of the first Indian layman". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "History of St. Xavier’s Cathedral, Kotta" (PDF). www.francisxaviers.com. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Diocese of Kottar". www.kottardiocese.org. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ Dr. Issac Arul Dhas G, `Kumari Mannil Christhavam` (Tamil), Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, 2010, ISBN 978-81-8465-204-8. Page7.