The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore la, Pondicherien(sis) et Cuddaloren(sis) is an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

located in the cities of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

and

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

in India.

History

With a land area of 11,348 square kilometers, the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore extends over the

and

Karaikal Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occasi ...

civil districts of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

union territory and the civil districts of

and

Viluppuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a Municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major railway junction, ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

state. In 2001, the total population of the area was 6,151,891. Ethnic groups in the territory include the

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

and French.

The Mission of The Capuchins And The Jesuits

French Capuchins were the first missionaries to Pondicherry in 1632. But they established the first Christian stable mission only in 1674. The great ancestor of this Archdiocese is the Carnatic Mission, which was started around the year 1700 as

Mission sui iuris A mission ''sui iuris'', or in Latin ''missio sui iuris'' (plural ''missions sui iuris''); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Church, Catholic mission ...

. This Carnatic Mission was known as Missions of the Coromandel Coast and also as the

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Mission. Before the establishment of the Carnatic Mission in 1700, the Jesuit Fathers of the

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Mission, especially

John de Britto John de Britto (also spelled ''Brito''; pt, João de Brito), also known as Arul Anandar, (born in Lisbon, Portugal on 1 March 1647 – died at Orur, Tamil Nadu, India on 4 February 1693) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr, often calle ...

, entered the

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the Sa ...

kingdom after 1660, and preached the Gospel up to the

Palar River Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in the Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka state, and flows in Karnataka, in Andhra Pradesh and in Tamil Nadu before reaching its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur ab ...

, south of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Members of various religious orders, looked after the spiritual needs of the European communities in their trading centres along the coastal areas, including

and

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

. The French

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

first settled in

in 1674 and the French Jesuits, expelled from

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

also took refuge with the Capuchins in Pondicherry in 1688. But, in 1693, the Dutch chased away all the religious groups from Pondicherry, and they were only able to return in 1699. While the Capuchins were looking after the Europeans in Pondicherry, the French Jesuits organized the Carnatic Mission for the Indian people.

The Boundaries Of the Carnatic Mission

The boundaries of the Carnatic mission were as follows: * To the south and west, the Pennaiyar River, beyond which were the

and

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

missions * To the east, the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

* To the north,

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

, including the

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and

Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

areas near the coast.

Jesuits Replaced By Foreign Mission Fathers

The continual wars in the 18th century, the ruin of

town in 1761 and the suppression of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1773, badly hit the vast Carnatic Mission. In 1776, the French Jesuit fathers were replaced at the order of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by the foreign Mission French Fathers. Although the Bishop of these new missionaries had all the power of jurisdiction, he was not given the title "Vicar Apostolic", but instead called the "Superior of the Mission of the Coromandel Coast." Rome successively gave him the jurisdiction over the

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

and

areas, affected by the suppression of the Society of Jesus. By 1800, the extent of the Carnatic Mission was immense, but the labourers were very few.

The First Vicar Apostolic And The First Archbishop

The Carnatic Mission was reorganized when new apostolic vicariates were created:

in 1832,

in 1836, and the vicariates of

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

and

in 1845.

became an apostolic vicariate of the Coromandel coast, on 1 September 1836, with Mgr. Bonnand as its first vicar apostolic. This apostolic vicariate was raised to an archbishopric on 1 September 1886, with Mgr. Laouenan as the first archbishop. Subsequently, subdivisions of the archdiocese took place, creating the new dioceses of

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

in 1899 and Salem in 1930. In 1928 a great part of the present diocese of

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...

was separated from Pondicherry and attached to the archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore. On a reorganisation of the archdiocese by

in 1969, the Madurantagam taluk of

Kanchipuram district Kancheepuram district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The area comprising the present day Kancheepuram district was earlier a part of Chingleput district. The original Chingleput district was split in 1997 into ...

was transferred to Madras, and

Tiruvannamalai taluk Tiruvannamalai taluk is a taluk of Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters is the town of Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomal ...

to Vellore .

The Final Formation

As the archdiocese of Pondicherry extended over the

union territory and the

South Arcot South Arcot District was a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Cuddalore, Kallakurichi and Viluppuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The district was divided into eight tal ...

district of

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...

, on 7 August 1953 it was given a new title by

: the "Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore". Originally, the archdiocese included the former French settlements of Pondicherry,

Chandannagar Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...

, Mahe, and

Yanam Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united wi ...

. Another ex-French settlement was also looked after by the MSFS Fathers in

. Chandannagar was re-allocated to the archdiocese of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, now

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, and Mahé to the

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

diocese of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

, now

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

, in 1949. The present archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore extends over the

and

districts of

and the

(excluding

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

and Kattumannarkoil taluks) and

districts of

Leadership

Superior of Karnatic Mission / Pondicherry

* Pierre Brigot (1776–1791) *

Nicolas Champenois Nicolas Champenois (April 1734 – 30 October 1811) 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-Au ...

(1791–1801)

Vicars Apostolic

* Louis-Charles-Auguste Hébert (1810–1835) * Clément Bonnand, M.E.P. (3 April 1850 – 21 March 1861) *

Joseph-Isidore Godelle Joseph-Isidore Godelle (7 March 1806 – 15 July 1867) 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. He was born in Hannapes, Ardennes on 7 ...

, M.E.P. (21 March 1861 – 15 July 1867) *

François-Jean-Marie Laouënan François-Jean-Marie Laouënan (19 November 1868 – 29 September 1892) 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-Isidor ...

, M.E.P. (24 July 1868 – 29 September 1892)

Archbishops

* Joseph-Adolphe Gandy, M.E.P. (29 September 1892 – 25 March 1909) * Elie-Jean-Joseph Morel, M.E.P. (11 May 1909 – 16 August 1929) * Auguste-Siméon Colas, M.E.P. (24 June 1930 – 28 October 1955) *

Ambrose Rayappan Ambrose Rayappan (25 February 1901 – 24 November 1999) was the tenth and the first indigenous Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. He was born at Dharapuram, Tamil Nadu. He was ordained as a priest for the Roman Catholic ...

(28 November 1955 – 17 March 1973) *

Venmani S. Selvanather Venmani S. Selvanather (6 July 1913 – 14 October 1993) was an Indian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore from 1973 to 1992, succeeding Ambrose Rayappan. He founded several ...

(17 March 1973 - 18 February 1992) * Michael Augustine (18 February 1992 – 10 June 2004 ) *

Antony Anandarayar Antony Anandarayar (17 July 1945 – 4 May 2021) was an Indian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.

(10 June 2004 – 27 January 2021) * Francis Kalist (19 March 2022 – Incumbent)

Apostolic Administrator

* Bishop Peter Abir Antonisamy (27 January 2021 - 19 March 2022). Upon the resignation of Archbishop Antony Anandarayar, for the first time in the history of Archdiocese, an Apostolic Admistrator was appointed by Pope Francis. Bishop Peter Abir Antonisamy (Bishop of Sulthanpet) was appointed as the Apostolic Admistrator of the Archdiocese. He ceased to be the Apostolic Administrator by the appointment of Most. Rev. Francis Kalist as Archbishop of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.

Bishops and Cardinals from this Archdiocese

Bishops

The following bishops were ordained to priesthood for Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore and later were appointed as Bishops of various dioceses. They are: * Ubagarasamy Bernadeth, Bishop of

(1940) * Joseph Mark Gopu, Auxiliary Bishop of Pondicherry (1948), Archbishop of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

(1953) * Joseph S. Thumma, Bishop of

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...

(1970) * Michael Duraisamy, Bishop of Salem (1974) * Archbishop Michael Augustine, Auxiliary Bishop of Madras-Mylapore (1978), Bishop of

(1981) and Archbishop of Pondicherry (1992) *

Antony Anandarayar Antony Anandarayar (17 July 1945 – 4 May 2021) was an Indian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.

, Bishop of Ooty (1997) and Archbishop of Pondicherry (2004) *

Yvon Ambrose Yvon Ambroise (born 30 August 1942) is the Bishop Emeritus of Tuticorin. He was appointed on 1 April 2005 and was consecrated by Pedro López Quintana on 18 May 2005. Bishops Antony Anandarayar and Peter Fernando acted as co-consecrators. He ...

, Bishop of

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and ...

(2005) * Peter Abir Antonisamy, Bishop of Sultanpet (2013) *

Arulselvam Rayappan Arulselvam Rayappan is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salem. Early life and education Arulselvam was born on 18 November 1960 in Tamil Nadu, India. He received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Arul Anandar College, Karum ...

, Bishop of Salem (2021) The following are the bishops who are native of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry but were ordained as priests in another diocese or religious order: *Archbishop

Malayappan Chinnappa Aesu Malayappan Chinnappa or A. M. Chinnappa is the Archbishop Emeritus of Madras-Mylapore and the Founder of the Society of God's Reign (Currently a Public Association). He was formerly Bishop of Vellore. Biography Chinnappa was born on 23 J ...

,S.D.B., Bishop of

(1992), Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore (2005). *Bishop Anthonysamy Neethinathan, (Clergy of Madras-Mylapore) Bishop of Chinglepet (2002)

Cardinal

Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (5 February 1924 – 2 June 2014) 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 ...

(b.1985 - d.2014)

Suffragan dioceses

Suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

s under this archdiocese are: *

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

* Salem *

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

Saints and causes for canonisation

* Servant of God Fr. Louis Savinien Dupuis, MEP

References

External links

GCatholic.org

at Catholic Hierarchy
Archdiocese official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pondicherry And Cuddalore Christianity in Tamil Nadu 1776 establishments in India