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Agra
Archdiocese consists of the following districts in Uttar
Pradesh: Agra, Aligarh, Auraiya, Budaun, Bulandshahr, Etah,
Etawah, Farrukabad, Fathegarh, Firozabad, Gautambudha Nagar,
Hathras, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Mathura and in Rajasthan, Bharatpur
and Dholpur. |
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The
Emperor Akbar, wishing to have some learned Christian priests
at his Court, invited the Jesuits from their College at
Goa. The first Church work with the Moghul was thus formed
by Blessed Rudolf Aquaviva (later a martyr at Goa), Anthony
Monserrate and Francis Henriquez, who arrived at the Moghul
Court, then at Fatehpur Sikri in 1580. A second and a third
Church work followed. The Jesuits enjoyed the patronage
of Akbar and his son Jahangir; but under Shah Jehan and
Aurangzeb this disappeared. Though there were no Christian
congregations of importance in Moghul India, there were
a number of individuals who wielded considerable influences
in Court and elsewhere.
When in 1773 the Jesuits were suppressed, two Carmelite
Fathers from Bombay succeeded them in Agra, who in turn,
were replaced by the Capuchins after a very short while.
By a decree of the Sacred Congregation, dated May 17, 1784,
the Vicariate - Apostolic of the Great Moghul was constituted.
The
history of the Agra Archdiocese under the Capuchins was
closely linked with their work in Tibet.
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St. Peter's College
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Early
in 1708, four Capuchins, starting from Kathmandu, reached
Lhasa after two months. More Capuchins followed them and
took up their residence at Lhasa until April 20, 1745,
when, owing to relentless persecution by the Tibetan
Priesthood, they had to leave Tibet, and return to Nepal.
Thus the capuchin Church work in Lhasa came to an end.
But the Church work continued its existence in Nepal until
1768.
Cathedral
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The whole
chain of Capuchin stations, embracing the greater part of
North India from Chandernagore to Lhasa, from Sind to Bengal,
from the Himalayas to Narbada river, now the Diocese of
Ajmer - Jaipur, Allahabad, Indore, Jhansi, Lahore, Lucknow,
Meerut, Patna, Varanasi, Delhi, Jalandar, Simla - Chandigarh,
Bijnor and Jammu & Kashmir, (formerly Rawalpindi) all
came to be known as the Tibet Hindustan Church work. The
Cathedrals of Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad, Delhi, Lahore (before
the new one), Madras, Patna and Simla, are symbols and monuments
of the untiring zeal of the Capuchins for the extension
of the faith and the progress of the Catholic Church in
India.
The
prefecture Apostolic of Tibet-Hindustan was in 1820, constituted
into the Vicaritae Apostolic of Agra, with Msgr. Maria Zenobio
Benucci, ofm cap. as its first Vicar Apostolic, who was
succeeded by Msgrs. Anthony Pezzoni and Anthony Borghi.
Abp
ALBERT D'SOUZA
Born: Aug. 04, 1945
Priestly Ordn: Dec. 08, 1974
Episcopal Ordn: Feb. 07, 1993
Appointed Archbishop of Agra: Feb. 16, 2007
Installed as Archbishop of Agra: Apr. 11, 2007
Address:
Archbishop of Agra
Archbishop's House
Wazirpura Road
Agra - 282 003.
Tel: (0562) 21 51 318 (O), 25 26 397 (P)
Fax: (0562) 21 53 939
Mobile:
E-mail:
Area: 49,162 sq. kms.
Total population: 27,024,295
Christians: 37,392
Catholics: 11,940
Languages spoken: Hindi and English.
Revenue districts:17
Statistics
Diocesan Clergy: 39 +11 (Changanassery Diocese)
Religious Priests: 17
Religious Brothers: 08
Religious Women: 224
No. of Parishes: 28
Houses of Women Religious: 43
Houses of Men Religious: 14
Formation Houses
Major Seminary: 01
Minor Seminary: 01
Others: 01
No. of Educational Institutions
Sr. Secondary Schools (10+2): 12, Students: 21,412
High Schools (10thstd.): 15, Students: 23,094
Primary Schools: 18, Students: 4,171
Hospitals:02, Beds:58
Dispensaries: 15
Beneficiaries (Annual): 65,790
Other Institutions: 28
Beneficiaries (Annual): 1,743
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