Pope appoints new bishop in Kottar, India

Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a new bishop to the diocese of Kottar in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state.  Fr. Nazarene Soosai, the parish priest of Our Lady of Ransom parish of Kanyakumari is the new Bishop of Kottar.   He was appointed soon after the Pope accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter Remigius who stepped down on his 78th birthday, 3 years after reaching the retirement age of 75.

Fr. Soosai was born in Rajakkalamngalamthurai in the diocese of Kottar on 13 April 1963.  He studied at the St. Aloysius’ minor seminary of Nagercoil, concluding his philosophical and theological studies at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Poonamallee, Chennai. He obtained a licentiate in theology from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He also holds a master’s degree in political sciences from the University of Madurai.

Following his priestly ordination on 2 April 1989, the 54-year old bishop designate of Kottar was assigned the following responsibilities:

* Assistant parish priest of Our Lady of Presentation church in Colachel (1989-1990)
* Prefect of studies at the Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home in Nagercoil (1990-1992); secretary secretary of the diocesan Commission for vocations
* Parish priest of St. Helen’s parish in Enayam, and ecclesiastical assistant of the Christian Life Community and secretary of the Diocesan Priests Personal Board (1992-1998)
* Did specialized studies in theology in Leuven, Belgium (1998-2000)
* Studied for a doctorate in Rome (2000-2003)
* Dean and professor of theology at the Sacred Heart seminary in Poonamallee, Chennai (2003-2011)
* Since March 2012, parish priest of the Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom in Kanyakumari and vicar forane of the vicariate of Kanyakumari, and at the same time visiting professor at the Sacred Heart seminary in Poonamallee, Chennai, and at various other universities and institutes (Madras University, Chennai; CRI Theological Institute, Bangalore; Sason Sambalpur, Odisha; Salesian Theological Institute, Chennai; St. Paul’s seminary, Tiruchirapalli; Arul Kadal, Chennai).