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 aforementioned 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.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sivagangai is located at the southeast corner of Bay of Bengal, 45 km east of Madurai city, in Tamil Nadu, 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 Pondicherry and Cuddalore Latin: Pondicherien(sis) et Cuddaloren(sis) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India.
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 Pune is a diocese located in the city of Pune in the Ecclesiastical province of Mumbai in India.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tuticorin is a unit of the Catholic Church in the city of Tuticorin, part of the Ecclesiastical province of Madurai 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.
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.
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.
Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. It is located in the Union territory of Puducherry. The church is also known as Samba Kovil, which is a phonetic corruption of "Saint Paul's Kovil" where "Kovil" means church.
Christianity in Puducherry originated with the Capuchins from Madras who began their missionary activity here. By 1689, the Jesuits began their activity. In 1773, the Paris Foreign Missions Society took up the mission. At that time, there were 30,000 Catholics in Pondicherry. However lack of missionaries and opposition from Padroado mutated the mission.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sultanpet is a Roman Catholic diocese consisting of Palakkad district, Kerala, India erected from the division of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coimbatore and Roman Catholic Diocese of Calicut, and a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly. Rev. Peter Abir Antonisamy clergy of Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore was appointed as its first bishop. The parish church of San Sebastian, located in Sultanpet in the city of Palakkad, is the cathedral of this diocese. At the time of its erection it was the 31st Catholic diocese in Kerala and 167th in India. The diocese is almost coterminous with the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat.
Auguste-Siméon Colas, MEP 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.
Elie-Jean-Joseph Morel was a member of Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the archbishop of Archdiocese of Pondicherry. On 21 September 1909 he succeeded Archbishop Joseph-Adolphe Gandy. He was the bishop until 16 August 1929. He resigned due to health reasons. He was succeeded by Auguste-Siméon Colas.
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.
