Pope appoints a new Bishop for Jhabua Diocese in Central India

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday appointed Rev. Fr. Basil Bhuriya, SVD, parish priest and member of the Provincial Council of the Fathers of The Society of Divine Word, as bishop of the diocese of Jhabua in the Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. Bishop Devprasad Ganawa SVD, the former Bishop of Jabua, after his appointment and transfer to the Diocese of Udaipur on December 21, 2012, has also been functioning as the Apostolic Administrator of Jhabua Diocese to date.  

Fr. Basil Bhuriya, SVD, was born on 8 March 1956 in Panchkui Parish, in the Diocese of Jhabua. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Pune. Later, he earned a B. A. at the University of Indore. He made his solemn profession in the Society of the Divine Word, on 12 June 1985. He was ordained a priest on May 5, 1986, for the same Society.

After ordination he held the following positions:

1987-1988: assistant priest at Muvalia, Gujarat, Diocese of Baroda;

1988-1992: Vice Rector of St. Thomas Seminary in Indore;

1992-1997: Rector of St. Thomas Seminary in Indore;

1997-2002: parish priest at Dhar, Diocese of Indore;

2002-2005: Director of the Hostel Thandla, Diocese of Jhabua;

2005-2009: parish priest at Rajgarh, Diocese of Jhabua;

Since 2009: parish priest of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church of Thandla, Diocese of Jhabua;

Since 2011: Member of the Provincial Council of the Fathers of The Divine Word, Central Indian Province.

The Diocese of Jhabua (2002), suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bhopal, has an area of ​​21,366 square kilometers and a population of 5,812,071 inhabitants, of whom 38,726 are Catholics. There are 30 parishes, served by 68 priests (46 diocesan and 22 religious), 26 religious brothers, 211 nuns and 36 seminarians.