Pope Meets another group of India’s Catholic Bishops on their Ad Limina Visit

(June 09, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI met a group of Catholic Bishops from South India on their Ad Limina visit on Thursday. The visit ad limina means the obligation of the heads of the Dioceses of visiting Rome every five years the relics of Sts. Peter and Paul, and of presenting themselves before the pope to give an account of the state of their dioceses. Pope Benedict XVI first met Archbishop Malayappan Chinnappa of Madras and Mylapore along with the Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Pius Dorairaj. Madras and Mylapore is one of the oldest Latin Rite Archdiocese established in 1605 by Pope Pius V. Pope Benedict then held colloquy with Archbishop Peter Fernando of Madurai Diocese in Tamil Nadu and Archbishop Antony Anandarayar of Pondichery and Cuddalore. This year the Indian Bishops are making their ad limina visits to Rome which began in March with the Syro-Malakara rite Bishops. These visits will end in September.