March 19,2014: Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed Jesuit Fr. Francis Serrao as
the new bishop of Shimoga in southern India’s Karnataka State. The 54-year old priest
a native of Mangalore Diocese, entered the Jesuit Order 3rd January
1979 at the novitiate of Mount St. Joseph in Bangalore. He studied philosophy
and theology at the Jesuit Institutes of Satya Nilayam in Chennai and Jnana Deepa
Vidya Peetha in Pune, and then did his Master’s in theology at Vidhya Jyoti College
in Delhi. He was ordained priest 30 April 1992 and took his perpetual vows in the
Jesuit Order in 1999. After his priestly ordination he covered the following
services: 1992-1933: Pastoral Minister in Mundgod, Karwar Diocese; 1994-1997:
Social Action-Loyola Vikas Kendra, Mundgod; 1998-2000: Director of the Regional
Theologate, Bangalore; 2000-2003: Parish priest of St. Joseph Church,Annnekal,
Mangalore; 2003-2004: Superior,Bejapur Jesuit Community; 2004-2009: Rector of
St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; Since 2009 he has been the provincial of the
Karnataka Jesuit Province and now replaces Bishop Gerald Issac Lobo, who in 2012
was transferred to the new diocese of Udipi. The Diocese of Shimoga a suffragan
in the Archdiocese of Bangalore, covers an area of 21,405 sq. km. and has a population
of about 8,040.000, of whom some 21.241 are Catholics.