The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tuticorin ( la, Tuticoren(sis)) is a unit (or '

particular Church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...

') of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the city 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 ...

, part of the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

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 ...

in India.

History

The diocese of Tuticorin comprises the major part of the Tuticorin district, nearly half of the Nellai district and a small portion of the Kanyakumari district. The Catholics of this area trace their origin to the time of St. Francis Xavier who spent most of his missionary life in this area. Separated from the diocese of Tiruchirapalli, Tuticorin was created as a diocese and entrusted to the diocesan clergy in 1923 by the Apostolic Brief "Quae Catholico Nomini" of Pope Pius XI. It was entrusted to the indigenous clergy with Rt. Rev. Francis Tiburtius Roche s.j., as its first Bishop. He was also the first Indian Bishop of the Latin Rite. The patrons of the diocese are St. Francis Xavier and St. Teresa of the Child Jesus.

Vicariates

Five Vicariates are present in the Tuticorin diocese. Vicariates and Forane Churches are: *

- Sacred Heart Cathedral, Tuticorin,

Sathankulam Sathankulam is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sathankulam town is located in the banks of the Karumeni river. It is from Tiruchendur and from Tirunelveli and from Thoothukudi and from Nagercoil a ...

Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Sathankulam The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

* Vadakkankulam - Holy Family Church, Vadakkankulam, Vadakkankulam *

Manapad Manapad is a coastal village in south India, from Tuticorin and south of Tiruchendur. St. Francis Xavier came to Manapad in 1542, conducting missionary activity on the Fishery coast. He lived in a grotto cavern on the seaward face of a cliff a ...

- St. Thoma's Church, Veerapandianpattinam,

Tiruchendur Tiruchendur is a municipality located in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is home to the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, which is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. Etymology Tiruchendur, a temple town like many towns in the s ...

* Kurukkusalai -

Infant Jesus Church An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

, Vemboor

Famous churches

*Minor Basilica **

Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows Our Lady of Snows Shrine Basilica is located at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centers in India dedicated to the Our Lady of Snows, a title given to Mother Mary. The Shrine name refers to the Basilica di ...

, Tuticorin *Cathedral **Sacred Heart Cathedral, Tuticorin *Special Churches ** Holy Cross Shrine , Manapad ** St. Antony's shrine,

Uvari Uvari is a coastal village in Thisayanvilai Taluk, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is also called Karaichuthu Uvari. The total geographical area of the Uvari is around . History According to Tamil history, the citizens of Uvari w ...

Our lady of Assumption Shrine Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

, Vadakkankulam ** Our lady of redsand Shrine, Sokkankudiyirupu via

** Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Sathankulam,

** Our Lady of Snows, Kallikulam ** Our lady of Holy marriage Shrine , pothakalavilai via

** Sacred Heart Jesus , Alanthalai via Tiruchendur ** Holy redeemer church,

Thisayanvilai Thisayanvilai is a special grade town panchayat. It is one of the taluks in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics India census, Tisaiyanvilai has a population of 23,702. Males constitute 48% of the population a ...

** Our Lady of Fatima Shrine,

Valliyur Vadakku valliyur or Valliyur is a Special Grade Town Panchayat in Radhapuram taluk in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Valliyur is one of the fastest-growing towns in Tirunelveli district. This town is located along ...

** Our lady of Rajakanni Church , Punnakayal ** Our Lady of Nativity ( St. Lucia Shrine ) , Anaikarai via Thisayanvilai ** St.James shrine , Srivaikuntam ** Our lady of Sarrows Shrine , Malayankulam via Nanguneri ** Our lady of Velankanni shrine , Kavalkinaru ** St.Joseph Church, Kootapuli ** Sacred Heart Jesus Church, Kavalkinaru ** St. Joseph Shrine, Panagudi ** St.thomas church , Vembar ** Holy Spirit Church , Manapad ** Amali annai Church , Tiruchendur ** St.Thomas Church

** Selva matha Church,

** St.Anthony's Shrine,

Thoothukudi 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 he ...

** Our lady of Lourdes Church, Idinthakarai ** St.Antony's Church, Azhagappapuram ** St Anne's Church, Koodankulam

Notable People

Servant of God, Rev. Fr.Antony Soosainather Servant of God, Rev. Fr. Augustine Pereira

Leadership

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s of Tuticorin (

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

) ** Bishop Stephen Antony (17 January 2019 – present) ** Bishop

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 ...

(1 April 2005 – 17 January 2019) ** Bishop Peter Fernando (later Archbishop) (8 December 1999 – 22 March 2003) ** Bishop Siluvaimathu Teresanathan Amalnather (29 November 1980 – 8 December 1999) ** Bishop

Ambrose Mathalaimuthu ''The Most Reverend'' Ambrose Mathalaimuthu D.D. (25 July 1925 – 15 November 2009) was Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coimbatore, India. Born in Nagalur, Tamil Nadu, South India, he was ordained as a priest on 21 December 1 ...

(30 August 1971 – 6 December 1979) ** Bishop Thomas Fernando (26 June 1953 – 23 November 1970) ** Bishop Francis Tiburtius Roche S.J. (12 June 1923 – 26 June 1953)

Saints and causes for canonisation

* Servant of God Fr. Antony Soosainather, CR

References

External links

GCatholic.org

Diocese of Tuticorin {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuticorin Roman Catholic dioceses in India

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century