Dr Peter Machado (centre), Archbishop of Bengaluru with new auxiliary bishops Arokiaraj Satis Kumar (left) and Joseph Susainathan (right) at a press conference in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Credit: DH Photo/ S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: After a long gap of about 60 years, the Archdiocese of Bangalore – spread across six districts of Karnataka – will get two auxiliary bishops to assist Archbishop Dr Peter Machado in pastoral and administrative responsibilities. The Episcopal ordination ceremony of Arokiaraj Satis Kumar and Joseph Susainathan, auxiliary bishops-elect, will be held at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Bengaluru on Saturday.
The three-hour-long ceremony, which will be attended by over 7,000 people including bishops, parish priests, and nuns, will start at 9 am, Dr. Machado told reporters.
“Many metropolitan cities including Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata as well as smaller cities such as Kannur, Shillong with a large number of catholic population have auxiliary bishops to share various responsibilities in their regions.”
The Archdiocese of Bangalore consists of around 110 churches and over 500 educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and technical institutes. In addition, the Archdiocese administers several social and healthcare institutions, such as hospitals, orphanages, a leprosy centre, hostels, boarding houses, homes for the aged, counselling centres, etc.
Arokiaraj Satis Kumar was born and raised in St. Anthony’s Parish in Guddadahalli, Bengaluru. He has held leadership roles including Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Rector of the Minor Seminary. Joseph Susainathan, the second new Auxiliary Bishop, hails from KGF and is currently the Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Church, Richmond Road.