Hyderabad: Pope Francis has started a new Syro-Malabar eparchy (diocese) called Shamshabad and appointed Mar Raphael Thattil, the Auxiliary Bishop of Trichur, as its first Bishop. The announcement was made in Rome, on Tuesday.
Raphael Thattil, who hails from the Trichur district of Kerala, was ordained a priest in 1980 and consecrated the titles of the Bishop of Buruni and the Auxiliary Bishop of Trichur in 2010. He was also appointed the Apostolic Visitor for the Syro-Malabar Catholics of India residing outside the jurisdiction of the 29 existing Syro-Malabar eparchies.
Shamshabad will be the second Syro-Malabar diocese to be erected in the Telugu states, after Adilabad, which was erected in 1999. There are around 20,000 Syro-Malabar Catholics and 15 priests in Hyderabad. The Shamshabad eparchy, which will operate from Hyderabad, will cover 1.3 lakh members across 24 states, three union territories and two islands of India.
