2012-01-20 16:20:54

Calcutta Archdiocese marking 125 years


(January 20, 2012) A series of events has been organized to mark the 125 years of the foundation of the Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta in eastern India’s Kolkata city. One such event took place on Tuesday when Archbishop Lucas Sirkar and Coadjutor Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta held a ‘meet and greet’ of media personnel at the Archbishop’s House. Talking to ‘The Herald’ weekly, Archbishop of Calcutta Lucas Sirkar spoke about the Church’s mission of service in Education, Health Care and Social Development, saying, “Service to humanity is service to God.” He also spoke about a series of events this year to mark the completion of 125 years of the Archdiocese. Co-adjutor Archbishop D’Souza said they have already opened a 70-bed Hospital at Midnapore, to serve the sick, especially the poor, including Leprosy, TB and HIV/AIDS patients in that area. “We aspire to reach out to the poor and marginalized children, youth and women in the areas of education, health care and empowerment to the maximum extent possible,” he added. The event also saw the launch of Archdiocese’s website: . With the establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in India in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vicariate Apostolic of West Bengal became the Archdiocese of Calcutta. Today the Metropolitan archdiocese has 7 suffragan dioceses in West Bengal state, viz, Asansol, Baruipur, Bagdogra, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Krishnagar and Raiganj.
Christianity in West Bengal is a minority consisting of about 0.6% of the population. The first Christian settlements in Bengal appeared at the end of the sixteenth century and Bandel Church, perhaps the first church in eastern India, was built in 1599. In Calcutta, the first Catholic Chapel was established in 1700. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary on Brabourne Road was started in 1797. Calcutta Archdiocese today has over 141,000 Catholics 37 parishes and 17 quasi parishes, served by 224 priests belonging to the diocesan clergy and 10 religious orders, along with 125 brothers and some 950 religious Sisters.








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