Roman Catholic Diocese of Ahmedabad explained

Jurisdiction:	Diocese
Ahmedabad
Latin:	Dioecesis Ahmedabadensis
Local:	अहमदाबाद के सूबा Hindi અમદાવાદ ડાયોસિઝ Gujarati
Country:	India
Rite:	Latin Church
Cathedral:	Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ahmedabad
Patron:	St Francis Xavier Sacred Heart
Parishes:	45
Area Km2:	14,791
Population:	10,274,000
Population As Of:	2014
Catholics:	71,800
Catholics Percent:	0.7
Bishop:	Athanasius Rethna Swamy Swamiadian
Metro Archbishop:	Thomas Ignatius MacWan

The Diocese of Ahmedabad (Latin: Ahmedabaden(sis)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Indian. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Gandhinagar, yet depends on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Its cathedral is (Our Lady of) Mount Carmel Cathedral, in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, western India.

Statistics

, it pastorally served 71,800 Catholics (0.7% of 10,274,000 total) on 14,791 km² in 45 parishes and 2 missions with 164 priests (89 diocesan, 90 religious), 455 lay religious (130 brothers, 325 sisters) and 11 seminarians.

History

• Established in 1934 as Mission sui iuris of Ahmedabad from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bombay^[1]
• Elevated on 5 May 1949 as Diocese of Ahmedabad / Ahmedabadensis (Latin adjective)
• Lost territory on 26 February 1977 to establish the Diocese of Rajkot
• Lost territory on 11 October 2002 to establish the Archdiocese of Gandhinagar, which became its Metropolitan.

Prelates

Ecclesiastical superior of Ahmedabad

• Fr. Joaquin Vilallonga, SJ

Bishops of Ahmedabad (all native Indians except the first)

• Edwin Pinto, Society of Jesus (Jesuits, S.J.) (born 1901 in present Pakistan, then also British India) (5 May 1949 – retired 1973), died 1978
• Charles Gomes, S.J. (1 July 1974 – 21 May 1990), died 2002
• Stanislaus Fernandes, S.J. (21 May 1990 – 11 November 2002), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Gandhinagar (India) (11 October 2002 – 12 June 2015), Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Diocese of Baroda (Gujarat, India) (23 May 2016 – ...)
• Thomas Ignatius MacWan (11 November 2002 – 12 June 2015), next Metropolitan Archbishop of above Gandhinagar (12 June 2015 – ...)
• Athanasius Rethna Swamy Swamiadian (29 January 2018 – ...).

External links

• GCatholic.org, with Google HQ satellite picture - data for all sections
• Catholic Hierarchy

23.0307°N 72.5847°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Apostolic Nunciature, India & Nepal.