The Roman Catholic Diocese of Khammam ( la, Khammamen(sis)) is a

diocese 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 associa ...

located in the city of

Khammam Khammam formally (Khammam Mettu) is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam mandal also. It is located about east of ...

in 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 ...

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, in the northern part of Southern India ...

in India.

History

The diocese of Khammam was bifurcated from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Warangal diocese by the Papal Bull ad "perpetuam rei memoriam" on 11 February 1988. It comprises the entire revenue district of Khammam. Most. Rev. Joseph Rajappa was appointed as the first Bishop of Khammam diocese. The Christian faith in this area has a century-old history.

Initial Days

The Mission work was actually launched by the PIME missionaries much before 1885 when this area was under the Hyderabad vicariate. The oldest Catholic Community brought to faith by Fr.F.Rolla PIME to Bayyaram village in 1901 still remains as a historical monument. Msgr. Vigano's Pastoral visits to different places could also bring some impact to the Christian communities. Because of their strenuous efforts, we could now have the pride of having Bayyaram parish(https://goo.gl/maps/vg3LF22zoQA2) because the first one to yield the first vocation in the diocese and later five more.

Khammam under Warangal Diocese

The Diocese of Warangal was bifurcated from the Ecclesiastical territory of Hyderabad as a separate diocese, comprising the districts of Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar, and Nalgonda by Pope Pious the XII on 22 December 1952. Most Rev. Alphonsus Beretta PIME was the first Bishop of Warangal. On 8 January 1953, under the dynamic leadership and great vision of Bishop A. Beretta, the Catholic Church in Khammam penetrated into interior places. Bishop Beretta set up many schools, dispensaries, boardings and launched other socio-economic developmental schemes. He invited several religious congregations to work in the rural belt of Khammam. In 1985 Bishop A. Beretta PIME retired and in 1987 bishop Thumma Bala was appointed as the second Bishop of Warangal. Before he could realize his plans, Khammam district was declared as a diocese in 1988. Bishop Joseph Rajappa was appointed as the first Bishop of Khammam. Unfortunately, he died in the following year i.e. 27 December 1989 due to old age and illness. The diocese was administered for a couple of years by Rev.Fr.M. Lourdunathan. On 31 January 1992, Fr.Marampudi Joji, of Vijayawada diocese was appointed as second Bishop of Khammam. After four and a half years, he was transferred to Vijayawada on 18 December 1996. Rev. Fr. D. Melchior Raja, PIME, administered the diocese for a couple of months. On 30 May 1997, Fr. Maipan Paul of Visakhapatnam diocese was appointed as the third Bishop of Khammam.

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 Khammam (

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 Paul Maipan (21 April 1997 – 27 August 2022) ** Bishop

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 ...

(later Archbishop) (21 December 1991 – 8 November 1996) ** Bishop Joseph Rajappa (18 January 1988 – 27 December 1989)

References

External links

GCatholic.org

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khammam Roman Catholic dioceses in India Christian organizations established in 1988 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Christianity in Telangana 1988 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Khammam