Holy See–India relations

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India-Holy See relations
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Apostolic Nunciature to IndiaEmbassy of India to the Holy See
Envoy
Apostolic Nuncio to India Leopoldo Girelli Ambassador of India to the Holy See Shambhu S. Kumaran

India-Holy See relations are the bilateral relations between the India and Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City. Formal bilateral relations between the two exist since 12 June 1948. An Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies existed from 1881. The Holy See has an nunciature in New Delhi while India has accredited its embassy in Vienna, Austria to the Holy See as well. Shambhu S. Kumaran, India's ambassador to Austria has been the ambassador to the Holy See since 2024, while Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli has been the Apostolic Nuncio to India since 2021.

Contents

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi meeting with Pope Francis, in Vatican City on October 30, 2021 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting with the Pope Francis, in Vatican City on October 30, 2021.jpg
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi meeting with Pope Francis, in Vatican City on October 30, 2021

History

Connections between the Catholic church and India can be traced back to the apostle St. Thomas, who, according to tradition, came to India in 52 AD. [1] [2] [3] There is a record of an Indian bishop visiting Rome at the time of Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124). [4]

The diplomatic mission was established as the Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies in 1881 based in Ceylon, and was extended to Malaca in 1889, and then to Burma in 1920, and eventually included Goa in 1923. It was raised to an Internunciature to all of India by Pope Pius XII on 12 June 1948 and to a full Apostolic Nunciature by Pope Paul VI on 22 August 1967. India initially had a legation to the Holy See, with the Minister at Berne accredited as Minister to the Holy See. [5] The Indian mission was raised to the status of an embassy led by an ambassador in 1965. [6] India's Ambassador in Bern had traditionally been accredited to the Holy See until 2020, since when the Ambassador in Vienna has been assigned the role.

Bilateral visits

There have been three Papal visits to India. The first Pope to visit India was Pope Paul VI, who visited Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress. Pope John Paul II visited several places in India including Chennai in February 1986 [7] and then again visited New Delhi in November 1999. [8] Several Indian dignitaries have, from time to time, called on the Pope in the Vatican. These include Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955, [9] Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1981, Prime Minister I.K. Gujral in September 1997, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021. [10]

Dignitaries at events

Vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat represented the country at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj led a delegation to the Vatican for the canonisation function of Saint Teresa of Calcutta in September 2016, when she also called on Pope Francis. She was accompanied by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. President Droupadi Murmu, union ministers Kiren Rijiju and George Kurian, and deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Goa Joshua De Souza represented India at the funeral of Pope Francis. [11] [12] [13] Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh and deputy chief minister of Nagaland Yanthungo Patton represented India at the inauguration of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. [14]

Indian ambassadors to the Holy See

FromTillNameDesignation
19491951 Dhirajlal Bhulabhai Desai Minister
19511952 Nedyan Raghaven Minister
19521953 Asaf Ali Minister
19531954 Yezdezard Dinshaw Gundevia Minister
19541955 Abid Hasan Safrani Chargé d'affaires
19551958 Mohan Sinha Mehta Minister
19581961 M. K. Vellodi Minister
19621964 Mohamed Abdul Rauf Minister
19641965 Vishnuprasad Chunilal Trivedi Minister
19651967 Vishnuprasad Chunilal Trivedi Ambassador
19681970 Mohamed Azim Husain Ambassador
19711974 Arjan Singh Ambassador
19741977 Avtar Singh Ambassador
19771978 Uma Shankar Bajpai Ambassador
19781979 Amba Prasad Chargé d'affaires
19791981 Gurbachan Singh Ambassador
19811982 Narendra Singh Ambassador
19821985 Thomas Abraham Ambassador
19851986 Om Parkash Aggarwal Chargé d'affaires
19861990 Ashoke Sen Chib Ambassador
19901994 Madhaw Keshav Mangalmurti Ambassador
19942000 Kizhakke Pisharath Balakrishnan Ambassador
20002002 Niranjan Natverlal Desai Ambassador
20022005 Praveen Lal Goyal Ambassador
20052006 Snehi Desh Bandhu Chargé d'affaires
20062008 Amitava Tripathi Ambassador
20082009 Ajaneesh Kumar Chargé d'affaires
20092013 Chitra Narayanan Ambassador
20132014 Nagendra Prasad Chargé d'affaires
20142015 Mysore Kapanaiah Lokesh Ambassador
20152017 Smitha Purushottam Ambassador
20172020 Sibi George Ambassador
20202024 Jaideep Mazumdar Ambassador
2024present Shambhu S. Kumaran Ambassador

Reference: [15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ A. E. Medlycott, (1905) "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN   1-59333-180-0.
  2. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing – 2008. p. 285. ISBN   978-0-8028-2417-2.
  3. ↑ Leslie W. Brown (1956). The Indian Christians of St Thomas, an Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. University Press.
  4. ↑ Robert Silverberg, The Realm of Prester John, pp. 29–34.
  5. ↑ "Report of the Ministry of External Affairs 1948-49" . Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "To the first Ambassador of India to the Holy See (March 25, 1965) | Paul VI". vatican.va.
  7. ↑ "Apostolic Nunciature, India & Nepal".
  8. ↑ "Pastoral Visit of His Holiness John Paul II to New Delhi". Vatican.va. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Pope Tells Nehru of Duty To Seek True World Peace". The Catholic Northwest Progress. Vol. 58, no. 28. 15 July 1955. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Tribune News Service. "PM Modi meets Pope Francis at Vatican, invites him to visit India". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "President Murmu, Kiren Rijiju Leaves For Vatican To Attend Pope's Funeral". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  12. ↑ "President Murmu attends funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City". The News Minute. 27 April 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "President Droupadi Murmu pays homage to Pope Francis at Vatican, to attend funeral" . Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  14. ↑ Service, Statesman News (18 May 2025). "RS Dy Chairman-led Indian delegation takes part in Pope Leo XIV's solemn ceremony". The Statesman. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "DAS BEIM HL. STUHL AKKREDITIERTE DIPLOMATISCHE KORPS – Die Apostolische Nachfolge" (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2021.

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