Pope makes two appointments in the Church of India

(12-03-2011) Pope Benedict XVI made two Church appointments in India on Saturday - one in Calcutta in the eastern state of West Bengal and the other in Hyderabad in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In West Bengal, 60-year old Bishop Thomas D’Souza of Bagdogra has been appointed Coadjutor bishop of Calcutta Archdiocese, which is headed by Archbishop Lukas Sirkar. Unlike an auxiliary bishop, the Coadjutor bishop has the right to succession following the retirement or the demise of the head of the Diocese. Bishop Thomas D’Souza was born 26 august 1950 in Adyapady, Karnataka State, and ordained priest in 1977. When Darjeeling diocese was divided to create Bagdogra diocese in 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop D’Souza as its first bishop.
Pope Benedict has also transferred 66-year old Bishop Tumma Bala of Warangal to be the Archbishop of Hyderabad. The seat of Hyderabad had been vacant since the death of Archbishop Marampudi Joji in August last year. Bishop Tumma Bala was born in 1944 in Narimetta village, Andhra Pradesh and ordained priest in 1970. He was appointed Bishop of Warangal in 1986