Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On February 4, 2023, the Holy Father appointed the Reverend James Shekhar, of the clergy of Patna, until now deputy secretary of the Episcopal Council of Bihar, Jharkhand and Andaman, as bishop of the diocese of Buxar, India.
Msgr. James Shekhar was born on 23 September 1967 in Singampurai, Tamil Nadu, in the diocese of Palayamkottai. He attended the minor seminary of Muzaffarpur and then Saint Joseph’s Major Seminary in Allahabad.
He was ordained a priest on 26 May 1996 and incardinated in the archdiocese of Patna.
After ordination, he first held the roles of parish vicar in Mokama (1996-1997) director of youth pastoral care for the archdiocese, and teacher at Saint Mary’s Seminary (1998-2003). He then studied for a licentiate in biblical theology at the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Rome (2003-2005), and was awarded a doctorate in biblical theology at the University of Innsbruck in Austria (2005-2009). He went on to serve as secretary to the archbishop of Patna (2009-2015) and, since 2016, deputy secretary of the Episcopal Council of Bihar, Jharkhand and Andaman. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 6/2/2023)
