Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Sagar
Encyclopedia
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Sagar is a Roman Catholic diocese
in India
, under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
. It was created by the Papal Bull
"Divina Verba" of Pope Paul VI
, and Mar Clemens Thottunkal was appointed its first bishop
.
With the retirement of the diocese's first bishop, Mar Joseph Pastor Neelankavil was appointed the second and current Bishop of Sagar, through the Papal Bull, Resonant saepernumero.
History of Sagar Diocese
The diocese of Sagar was erected as an Apostolic Exarchate by the bull ‘Quo Aptius’ dated July 29, 1968, cutting out from the Archdiocese of Bhopal the civil districts of Sagar, Raisen and Vidisha. Again at the request of the Bishop of Ajmer-Jaipur, the district of Guna was added to the Exarchate of Sagar by the decree of ‘De Bono Animarum’ on 2nd April, 1973. The civil district of Guna was further bifurcated on August 15, 2003 to form the district of Ashoknagar. At present, diocese of Sagar consists of five civil districts in Madhya Pradesh, namely Sagar, Raisen, Vidisha, Guna and Ashoknagar. The Holy See by its decree ‘Divina Verba’ on 26th February 1977 raised the Apostolic Exacrchate to the Status of a proper diocese. The diocese covers an area about 40,000 sq. kms. Bp. Clemens Thottungal CMI was the first bishop of the diocese. Bp. Joseph Pastor Neelankavil CMI succeeded him as second bishop of the diocese. After his retirement in the year 2006, Bishop Anthony Chirayath is the Bishop of the diocese.
The area is rather under developed due to various social, economic and cultural reasons. 85% of the people are farmers or farm-workers. The labour is not well organised, and consequently a lot of exploitation prevails. 80% of the people are Hindus belonging to various castes and the rest are Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Adivasis and a very small minority of Christians. Out of the total population of 6 million peoples, the Christians are only 12,000 of which 7,000 are Catholics.
The various Socio-Pastoral, Medical and Educational apostolates of the Church are being carried out in the diocese under the Sagar Diocesan Service Society, which is a registered society under the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
The diocese has 15 parishes and about 55 mission centres. Through various pastoral activities, the missionaries take care of the spiritual needs of the Catholics and other Gospel proclaiming programmes. There are many developmental programmes by which the poor farmers and poverty stricken people are helped. Missionaries in Sagar have always tried to venture in to new areas of apostolate according to the need.
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India is an East Syrian Rite, Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. It is one of the 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic Church. It is the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations with more than 3.6...
. It was created by the Papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
"Divina Verba" of Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, and Mar Clemens Thottunkal was appointed its first bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
With the retirement of the diocese's first bishop, Mar Joseph Pastor Neelankavil was appointed the second and current Bishop of Sagar, through the Papal Bull, Resonant saepernumero.
History of Sagar Diocese
The diocese of Sagar was erected as an Apostolic Exarchate by the bull ‘Quo Aptius’ dated July 29, 1968, cutting out from the Archdiocese of Bhopal the civil districts of Sagar, Raisen and Vidisha. Again at the request of the Bishop of Ajmer-Jaipur, the district of Guna was added to the Exarchate of Sagar by the decree of ‘De Bono Animarum’ on 2nd April, 1973. The civil district of Guna was further bifurcated on August 15, 2003 to form the district of Ashoknagar. At present, diocese of Sagar consists of five civil districts in Madhya Pradesh, namely Sagar, Raisen, Vidisha, Guna and Ashoknagar. The Holy See by its decree ‘Divina Verba’ on 26th February 1977 raised the Apostolic Exacrchate to the Status of a proper diocese. The diocese covers an area about 40,000 sq. kms. Bp. Clemens Thottungal CMI was the first bishop of the diocese. Bp. Joseph Pastor Neelankavil CMI succeeded him as second bishop of the diocese. After his retirement in the year 2006, Bishop Anthony Chirayath is the Bishop of the diocese.
The area is rather under developed due to various social, economic and cultural reasons. 85% of the people are farmers or farm-workers. The labour is not well organised, and consequently a lot of exploitation prevails. 80% of the people are Hindus belonging to various castes and the rest are Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Adivasis and a very small minority of Christians. Out of the total population of 6 million peoples, the Christians are only 12,000 of which 7,000 are Catholics.
The various Socio-Pastoral, Medical and Educational apostolates of the Church are being carried out in the diocese under the Sagar Diocesan Service Society, which is a registered society under the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
The diocese has 15 parishes and about 55 mission centres. Through various pastoral activities, the missionaries take care of the spiritual needs of the Catholics and other Gospel proclaiming programmes. There are many developmental programmes by which the poor farmers and poverty stricken people are helped. Missionaries in Sagar have always tried to venture in to new areas of apostolate according to the need.