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Diocese of Salem Dioecesis Salemensis சேலம் மறைமாவட்டம் | |
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Location | |
Country | India |
Ecclesiastical province | Pondicherry and Cuddalore |
Statistics | |
Area | 8,368 km2 (3,231 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2010) 5,687,860 88,576 (1.6%) |
Parishes | 56 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Cathedral | Cathedral of the Infant Jesus in Salem, Tamil Nadu |
Co-cathedral | St Mary’s Co-Cathedral, Shevapet |
Patron saint | Infant Jesus |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Arulselvam Rayappan |
Vicar General | A. Belevendiram |
Bishops emeritus | Sebastianappan Singaroyan |
Website | |
Website of the Diocese |
The Diocese of Salem (Latin : Salemen(sis)) 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.
The foundation of Madura mission had a tremendous effect on the social history of Salem. Robert de Nobili (1577–1656), an eminent and dedicated Jesuit was the first missionary who visited Salem to spread Christianity and founded Catholic Church there. He entered the Jesuit order in 1595 and came to India in 1604. He reached Madurai in 1606 when it was ruled by Tirumalai Nayak (1623-1659). Nobily adopted the mode of life of Hindu sanyasis in order to attract higher caste Hindus to Christianity by his adoptive method he converted many Hindu high caste into Christian faith. As a result of his novel way of conversion, Christianity was accepted in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu by low caste and high caste people. After founding a well-known Jesuit mission at Madurai in 1606 AD, he decided to spread the gospel in the neighbouring regions.
He established congregations wherever conversion took place in large numbers. In 1623, he toured through many parts of Tamil Country. During the course of the tour he visited Truchirapalli, Senthamangalam and Salem. In June 1623, he arrived at Senthamangalam, the capital of Ramachandra Nayak, the Vasal of Thirumala Nakak of Madurai. Nayak offered him a site to build a church and a presbytery but after consulting God in prayer, Robert de Nobili declined the offer.
At Salem, Nobili met Tirumangala Nayak, the elder brother of Ramachandra Nayak and also the dethroned ruler of Senthamangalam. Fr. Nobili followed Tirumangala, a small town in Dharampuri and baptized him there along with his family members on 25 December 1625.
On 31 July 1626, Nobili received the visit of a Saivist Pandaram and a man belonging to Valluvar caste. The latter one was impressed by De Nobili's Tamil book, Sign of True Religion, and was himself baptized with the name "Mukthi Udayan" ("Blissful One"). His conversion had a tremendous impact on the evangelical service rendered by Fr. Nobili in Salem region. Very soon Maramangalam became an important Christian centre with 40 neophytes. As this centre was then well established he could leave for other places to continue to preach the gospel. So he invited Fr. Martins and put him in charge of Salem, Maramangalam and Senthamangalam which numbered between 100 and 150 Christians.
In 1627, he left for Tiruchirapalli. The little congregations he established grew from strength to strength. Due to the efforts of Fr. De Nobili and Fr. Antonio Vico, a church was built at Maramangalam in 1628 and another one at Salem. Subsequently, the Christian Mission centre was established in various places in Salem region Fr. Nobili established a mission centre in Dharamapuri. By 1665, there were a large number of Catholics at Kongupatti, Ilupuli, Anaikarapalayam, Omalur, Sankagiri, Anthiyur, Mathiyampatti and Ilanagar.
On 26 May 1930 the Diocese of Salem was erected from the parts of Salem District and from the Diocese of Kumbakonam, Diocese of Mysore and Archdiocese of Pondicherry.
St. Mary's Co-Cathedral was consecrated in 1975 as 'The Pro Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories' by Bishop Michael Bosco Duraisamy. [1] The parish of Arisipalayam was bifurcated from Shevapet in 1953 and was erected as St. Francis Xavier's parish. The chapel of St. Francis Xavier's Minor Seminary served as the parish church till 1991. The new Infant Jesus Cathedral was consecrated on 27 November 1991, and dedicated to Infant Jesus. This magnificent Cathedral was meticulously planned and carefully constructed with strenuous efforts by late Bishop Most Rev. Dr. Michael B. Duraisamy.
Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy was an Indian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. His episcopical motto was Aedificare domum Dei which means "To build the house of God". He was the fourth cardinal from India and the first curial cardinal of Asia outside of the Middle East.
The Madurai Mission, or Madura Mission, (1606-1773/1937-1952) was a Jesuit Mission founded in 1606 encompassing the south-eastern portion of the Indian peninsula around the Coromandel coast stretching from its tip to areas slightly north of the Vellar River although it would later lose parts of its jurisdiction to the Carnatic Mission in 1776. It was taken over by the previously mentioned mission following the dissolution of the Jesuits and was only reconstituted as a Jesuit mission again in 1929 before finally being made an independent Jesuit province in its own right in 1952. These two missions are known as the Old Madurai Mission (1606-1773) and the New Madurai Mission (1937-1952). The mission is distinguished from earlier Christian presence by being those related to and following in the steps of Roberto de Nobili in the city of Madurai itself and spreading out across the south east of the peninsula from that point.
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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.
Antony Anandarayar was an Indian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. His episcopal motto in Latin is Servire in Fide et in Amore, which means To serve with Faith and Love. He died on 4 May 2021.
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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.
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