Pope appoints new bishop for Amravati Diocese

(11.07. 2012) Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appointed as Bishop of Amravati Diocese in western India’s Maharashtra State, Fr. Elias Gonsalves, who is currently the Director of Social Work in the Archdiocese of Bombay. The seat of Amravati Diocese has been lying vacant since 11 November 2010, following the transfer of Bishop Daniel Lourdes to Nasik Diocese also in Maharashtra State. Fr. Elias Gonsalves, the newly appointed bishop of Amravati, was born 4 July, 1961 at Chulne in the Diocese of Vasai. After completing his school studies at Sandor in the same diocese, he joined the Archdiocesan seminary of St. Pius College in Goregaon in 1983. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and Economics from the University of Bombay , and a Diploma at the Coady Institute, Nova Scotia in Canada, where he majored in Social and Community Development Building. After his ordination as priest 1^st April in 1990, he served as assistant to several parishes in Vasai. In 2009, he was appointed Director of Social Work, a post he held until his present appointment as bishop of Amravati. The Diocese of Amravati has an area of 46, 447 square kms and a population of 10, 634,000 inhabitants, of whom some 5,622 are Catholics. There are 19 parishes served by 32 priests, 10 religious brothers, 220 sisters and 15 seminarians.