Gallela Prasad (born 7 April 1962) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of the Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh, from 2008 to 2018. He is well versed in Latin as well as

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and English.

Biography

Prasad was born the fourth and youngest child in a family of teachers in Adoni in Andhra Pradesh. Smt. Mariamma and Sri Jojappa were his parents. He went to school in his hometown and later attended St. Pius Minor Seminary in Kurnool.Kurnool Vani, Newsletter of the Kurnool Diocese, Volume XXI, Number 3, March 2008Vatican Radio, The voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue with the world, 31 January 200

/ref> He studied philosophy at St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate), St. John's Regional Seminary, Kondadaba, Visakhapatnam, and then theology at the

St. John's Regional Seminary St. John's Regional Seminary is the theologate of the Catholic Church of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is a major seminary training students to become priests. St. John's Regional Seminary is situated in Ramanthapur in Hyderabad. Affiliat ...

in Ramanthapur, Hyderabad. On 1 March 1989, Prasad was ordained a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Kurnool by Bishop Matthew Cheriankunnel. After his ordination, Prasad served as a Youth Services Director of the diocese of Kurnool from 1989 to 1993 as well as a warden for St. Mary's Junior College, Kurnool from 1989 to 1990. From 1990 to 1995, he was a parish priest in Koilakunta.Amruthavani Communications Centre, Hyderabad, Brief History of the Diocese of Kurnoo

/ref> He also served as Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1999 Prasad studied in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas ''Angelicum'' where he earned a

Doctorate of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Roman Catholic ...

degree. His thesis was entitled ''Christian Charity as Witnessed by Mother Teresa of Calcutta''. On returning to India in 1999, he was Pastor in St. John's Church, Uppaladadiya till 2000. From 2000 to 2004 he served as a pastor in the

Diocese of San Angelo The Diocese of San Angelo ( la, Dioecesis Angeliana, es, Diócesis de San Angelo) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering 29 counties throughout Central and West Texas. It was founded on October 16, ...

, Texas, U.S. In 2004, he was made Spiritual Director and Professor of Christian Doctrine in the St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate) in Kothavalasa, Visakhapatnam. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Prasad Bishop of Cuddapah on 31 January 2008. He was consecrated on 1 March 2008 at the St. Mary's Old Cathedral Grounds, Mariapuram, Cuddapah, by

Marampudi Joji Marampudi Joji (7 October 1942 – 27 August 2010) was the third Archbishop of Hyderabad. He was born in Bhimavaram and died at the Bishop's House, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He knew Latin, Telugu, and English. Early years & education Joji ...

, Archbishop of Hyderabad, with Kagithapu Mariadas, Archbishop of Visakhapatnam and the D. M. Prakasam, Bishop of Nellore as co-consecrators. Almost all the Catholic Bishops of the Andhra region took part in the consecration. Among the

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

invitees was K. B. Yesuvaraprasad, the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence. The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Pr ...

's Bishop of Rayalaseema. He chose as his episcopal motto or "I am the good shepherd". In June 2018, two lay Catholics initiated a lawsuit against Gallela, charging that he misappropriated church funds to support his wife and 20-year-old son. Gallela denied the charges and the woman was his brother's widow, misidentified as his wife in certain deeds. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as bishop on 10 December 2018.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy, Bishop Prasad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Gallela 1962 births Living people Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic theologians 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in India 21st-century Indian Roman Catholic theologians Indian Christians