In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a mission sui iuris, also known as an independent mission, can be defined as: "an ecclesial structure erected from a previous territory, with explicit boundaries, under the care of a religious community or other diocese, responding to a missionary exigency and headed by a superior nominated by the Holy See, under the aegis of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples."
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coimbatore is a diocese located in the city of Coimbatore in the ecclesiastical province of Madras and Mylapore in India.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bangalore is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected as pro-vicariate from, as Vicariate from, as Diocese of Mysore - Bangalore in the Ecclesiastical Metropolitan Province of Pondicherry in Southern India from, as Diocese of Bangalore on 13 February 1940 by Pope Pius XII, and elevated to the rank of a Metropolitan Archdiocese on 19 September 1953, with the Suffragan Dioceses of Belgaum, Bellary, Chikmagalur, Gulbarga, Karwar, Mangalore, Udupi, Mysore, and Shimoga.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Chongqing is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese located in southwestern China, yet still depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Archbishop of Chongqing is the primate of the Catholic Church in Sichuan (Szechwan).
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore/Madras and Myliapor is an archdiocese based in the city of Madras, in India. It took also the name of the ancient diocese of Mylapore, now a part of Chennai.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vellore is a diocese located in the city of Vellore in the ecclesiastical province of Madras and Mylapore in India.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dharmapuri is a diocese located in the city of Dharmapuri in the ecclesiastical province of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India. This Diocese administrate the political region of Dharmapuri district and Krishnagiri district.
The Diocese of Salem is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in India. Its episcopal see is Salem. The Diocese of Salem is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.
Archbishop Savarinathan Michael Augustine was an Indian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore from 1992 to 2004. He is an honorary member of Society of Foreign Missions of Paris. He served the church for 39 years as a bishop and for 56 years as a priest. He died on 4 November 2017 at the age of 84.
Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India or CCBI, is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in India, functioning in accordance with canon 447. There are 132 Latin Catholic dioceses in the country, and 190 active and retired bishops are the members of the CCBI. This is the largest bishops' conference in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. The CCBI is a member of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
Christianity in Puducherry originated with the Capuchins from Madras who began their missionary activity here. By 1689, the Jesuits began their activity, and in 1773 the Paris Foreign Missions Society continued the mission. At that time, there were 30,000 Catholics in Pondicherry. However, the lack of missionaries and opposition from Padroado mutated the mission.
Peter Abir Antonisamy is an Indian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Sultanpet.
Auguste-Siméon Colas M.E.P. was a member of Paris Foreign Missions Society and the last missionary archbishop of Archdiocese of Pondicherry. On 29 September 1930, he succeeded Archbishop Elie-Jean-Joseph Morel when the later resigned due to health reasons. He was the bishop until 28 October 1955. He was succeeded by Ambrose Rayappan.
François-Jean-Marie Laouënan was a member of Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the archbishop of Archdiocese of Pondicherry. On 24 July 1868 he was appointed to succeed Bishop Joseph-Isidore Godelle as Vicar Apostolic of Pondicherry. He was consecrated as a bishop on 11 October 1868. When Pope Leo XII established Catholic hierarchy in India, Mgr. Laouënan was appointed as Archbishop of the same see on 25 November 1886. He was the archbishop until his death on 29 September 1892. He was succeeded by Joseph-Adolphe Gandy.
Pierre Brigot was a missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the first Superior of Karnatic Mission headquartered at Pondicherry which later became the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. He was the Superior from 30 September 1776 until his death. He was formerly the Vicar Apostolic of Siam in Thailand from 8 December 1755. After his death the Karnatic Mission was headed by Bishop Nicolas Champenois.
Nicolas Champenois was a missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the Superior of Karnatic Mission after Pierre Brigot from 8 November 1791 until his death. He was succeeded by Louis-Charles-Auguste Hébert.
Joseph-Isidore Godelle was a missionary of Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the vicar apostolic of Pondicherry from 21 March 1861 until his death on 15 July 1867.
