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Bengaluru, Oct 4 (CCBI) : His Holiness Pope Francis accepted the resignation of His Grace Most Rev. Leo Cornelio (76), SVD, from the pastoral governance of Bhopal Archdiocese and has appointed His Excellency Most Rev. Alangaram Arokia Sebastian Durairaj (64), S.V.D., until now Bishop of Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh as the new Archbishop of Bhopal. This provision was made public in Rome on Monday, 4 October, 2021.

About Archbishop Leo Cornelio

Photo : CCBI

Archbishop Leo Cornelio was born on 14 March 1945 in Kukkunje, near the coastal city of Udupi in Karnataka to Late Mr. Valerian Cornelio and Mrs. Rose Cornelio. After completing his primary schooling in his native place, at the early age of thirteen he was recruited by a well known SVD German missionary, Fr. Peter Verhalen, and was admitted to Rajeshwar Vidhyalaya, Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

He was ordained a priest in his native parish at Mount Rosary Church, Kallianpur on 14 November,1972 by the then Bishop of Mangalore, Bishop Basil S. D’Souza.

In June 1983 he was sent to Rome for a spiritual and theological course. On his return to India in 1984, he was elected as Provincial Superior of the SVD Central Indian province with its headquarters in Indore. Three years later, in 1987, he was re-elected to the same position. In June 1988, at the SVD General Chapter held in Rome, he was elected a General Councillor. He served for two terms of six years each in that position.

As a General Councillor, he has travelled far and wide in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Caribbean Islands, South America, Africa, Asia as well as Europe, and has participated in many international meetings and conferences. Besides being well acquainted with several Indian languages and English he is also proficient in Italian, Spanish, French, German and Indonesian. Almost towards the fag end of his second term as General Councillor, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed him as Bishop of Khandwa Diocese. As a dedicated shepherd, he promoted spiritual renewal in the diocese as well as the educational and social development apostolate to a great extent.

In the year 2000, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed him as a member of Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People; and in 2006 he was reappointed by Pope Benedict XVI for a second term for the same. He was the chairman of the CBCI Office for Youth. He was also the financial administrator for the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Regional Major Seminaries at Bhopal and Ashta.

He was appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bhopal on 15 June 2007 and installed on 16 September, 2007. He was the main instrumental to convene the 29 Plenary Assembly of the CCBI held from 31 January to 8 February, 2017 at Pastoral Centre, Ashaniketan Campus, Bhopal. He is a priest for 48 years and a bishop for 22 years.

About Bishop Alangaram Arokia Sebastian Durairaj

Photo : CCBI

Bishop Alangaram Arokia Sebastian Durairaj, SVD, was born on 3 May 1957, at Thirunagar in the Archdiocese of Madurai in Tamilnadu. After attending elementary school in his hometown and in Madurai, he joined St. Charles Seminary in Tiruchirapalli for the Society of the Divine Word in 1971. He completed his pre-university course while he was in St. Charles Seminary. He made his final profession in the Society of the Divine Word on 12 July 1984.

He was ordained priest on 8 May 1985, at Thirunagar, Madurai.

He was appointed bishop of Khandwa diocese by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 May, 2009, and was ordained on 16 July 2009. He is a priest for 36 years and a bishop for 12 years.

Source : CCBI