ASIA/INDIA - Bishop of Kumbakonam appointed

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father Benedict XVI, on May 31, 2008, appointed Fr. Francis Antonysamy, of the clergy of Tanjore and parish priest of the Basilica of Vailankanni, as Bishop of Kumbakonam (India).
The bishop-elect was born April 15, 1946 in Iluppur, Diocese of Tanjore. After completing his primary school in his native village, he entered the minor seminary in Thanjavur, where he studied from 1964 to 1967. He completed his Seminary studies at Paul's Seminary, Tiruchirappali and was ordained in 1974, and from 1979 to 1981 completed studies towards a Masters in Philosophy at Sacred Heart College in Chennai. From 1980 to 1982, he earned his Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Teresianum. He was ordained a priest August 2, 1974. He has since ministered as follows: 1974-77: Assistant Pastor at the Shrine in Vailankanni; 1978-1980: professor of Philosophy at St. Paul's Seminary, Tiruchirappalli; Diocesan Director for the Liturgy and Catechesis; 1984-1990: scholastic inspector for moral sciences and catechism in Tanjore; 1990-1994: Pastor in Mandhai; 1995: assistant to the Secretary of CCBI Commission for the Christian Life; 1996-2003: spiritual direstor and professor at Good Shepherd Seminary, Coimbatore. Since 2003, he has served as Vice-Rector and Parish Priest at the Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health in Vailankanni, Tanjore.
The Diocese of Kumbakonam, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, was erected in 1899. It covers an area of 7,823 sq km, with approximately 5,095,798 of which 210,313 are Catholics. It has 85 parishes,158 diocesan priests and 49 religious priests, 6 religious brothers, and 451 women religious, and 40 major seminarians. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 3/6/2008)