The Catholics of Patna and Bihar celebrate 100 years of the Catholic community’s contribution to the development of Bihar, and give thanks to the Lord for providing them the numerous opportunities to be of service to others. To be a Christian means to live a life of love, because God is Love, and the way love is made visible and experienced on  this earth is in the service of the person next to you, your neighbour. The centre of this celebration, as stressed by Archbishop Giambattista, is the holy communion with God, and with each other, and as a family and community, and this divine communion manifests itself in our service to all regardless of caste, creed, gender, or religious affiliation.

PATNA BIHAR: Some thousand Catholics turned up to greet papal Delegate and Vatican Ambassador HE Archbishop Giambattista Diqattro, as he, along with seven invited bishops walked into the premises of the Queens of Apostles Church to inaugurate the year long centenary celebrations of the Patna Diocese.

Children and adults lined the entrance to the parish church, waving Indian and Vatican State flags, while the Apsotolic Nuncio of India and Nepal accompanied by Archbishop of Patna Rev William D’Souza, along with the bishops of Nepal, Punalur, Bettiah, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur , Buxar and Purnea were led to the church by a guard of honour comprising Parish youth and the marching band of  Hartmann school.

The Centenary celebrations of the Patna Archdiocese started off with the visiting bishops’ release of a bunch of blue and white balloons, the colours of Our lady, and the planting of saplings.

The Inaugural High Mass was conducted with devotion and elegance in English and Hindi.

Apostolic Blessing

Archbishop William D’Souza announced that the Holy Father has given permission for a special Apostolic Blessing to be given to the people of Patna Archdiocese on the occasion of the Centenary year. This special Apostolic Blessing shall be conferred on the faithful at the Mokameh Shrine on the first Sunday of February in the coming year.

Cultural evening

Later, the papal nuncio and visiting bishops were felicitated at the Inaugural celebration held at the Hartmann school grounds. While offering centenary  congratulations to the what he termed as the ‘Young Catholic Church of Patna’, Archbishop Giambattista spoke of the spirit of communion that keeps the church alive and flourishing. He conveyed the greetings and blessings of the Holy Father Pope Francis, and emphasised that the Church of God is essentially a church in the service of others.

Catholic Students from Hartmann school, Notre Dame Academy, Loyola School, St Joseph’s Convent,St. Michael’s school, put on an entertaining cultural evening of music and dance that showcased different cultural aspects of Bihar.

Bishop Sebastian Kallupura coadjutor Archbishop of Patna with charge of Buxar Diocese while proposing the vote of thanks, underlined the strong role of the priests , youth, women’s groups, and parishioners of the Queen of Apostles’ parish in hosting the event. Kurji parish, at it is commonly known, is the most populous parish in Patna with some 3,000 Catholics.

History

It was on the 10th of September 1919, that Pope Benedict the 15th created the Patna Diocese from the Allahabad diocese. Rev Fr Louis Van Hoeck SJ was ordained the first Bishop of Patna in 1921.

Rome erected the Prefecture of Tibet-Hindustan into a Vicariate in 1812. In 1827 an Independent Patna Vicariate was created, comprising Bettiah, Chuhari, Patna City, Dinapore, Bhagalpur, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Nepal, and adjacent territories. The saintly Anastasius Hartmann, was appointed its first Vicar Apostolic. With a Decree of Pope Leo XIII Patna Vicariate became a part of Allahabad diocese in 1886. The North Bihar Mission with its four stations of Bettiah, Chuhari, Chakhani and Latonah was entrusted to the Tyrolese Capuchins in 1886. In May 1892 the North Bihar Mission was made Bettiah – Nepal Prefecture with Fr Hilarion of Abtei, ofm cap, as its first Prefect. In 1919 this Prefecture was dissolved and joined to South Bihar to form the present Diocese of Patna.

Pope Benedict XV by a Decree on 10 September 1919 divided the Diocese of Allahabad into two. The Diocese of Patna was thus created. The Prefecture of Bettiah-Nepal was annexed to the new diocese. The Holy See entrusted Patna diocese to American Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus. Later, on 13 November 1930, after the division of Missouri Province, Patna diocese was entrusted to the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. Louis Van Hoeck, a Belgian Jesuit, was ordained the first Bishop of Patna on 6 March 1921.

The Third Order Regular (T.O.R.) Franciscan Fathers from Pennsylvania, USA came to Patna diocese to assist the Jesuits in 1938. The mission stations of Bhagalpur, Gokhla, Poreyahat and Godda were assigned to them. In 1956 Bhagalpur was made a Prefecture and in 1965 it was created a Diocese with Msgr Urban Mc Garry, T.O.R., as its First Bishop.

The forbidden Kingdom of Nepal was once again open for Fathers in 1951, thanks to the efforts of Fr. Marshall D. Moran, S.J. Nepal was made an independent ecclesiastical unit in 1984 and Fr. Antony Sharma, S.J. was appointed as its First Mission Superior.

On 28 March 1980, Pope John Paul II, accepted the resignation of Bishop Augustine Wildermuth S.J., and divided the Patna diocese into two units: Patna and Muzzaffarpur. Fr Benedict J Osta S.J., was appointed Bishop of Patna.

The Diocese of Patna comprises in the State of Bihar, the Districts of Patna, Nalanda, Nawadah, Gaya, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Jehanabad, Bhojpur, Bhabhua, Buxar and part of Munger.

  Archbishop William D’Souza, Bihar, Catholic Church, Patna Archdiocese, Vatican