History

The word of God that was preached and lived by the Franciscan fathers in the 16th Century did accomplish its task in its own way. The Diocese of Bellary owes its faith and growth to the Franciscan fathers. Thanks to the efforts of the pioneering father such as Bishop John Forest Hogan. In 1928, the Holy See detached the two districts of Raichur and Gulbarga from the Diocese of Hyderabad and the district of Bellary from the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore and formed the new Mission "Sui Juris" of Bellary. It was entrusted to the pastoral care of the Order of Friars Minor of the English Province. In the course of twenty years, its development was considered sufficient to be constituted as a Diocese. This took place in 1949 with Rt. Rev. John Forest Hogan, ofm, as the first Bishop. The Diocese of Bellary now consists of the five districts of Bellary, Raichur, Gulbarga, Koppal and Davanagere all in Karnataka state.
 
Bishop John Forest Hogan:
 
The Bishop John Forest Hogan, ofm, the First Bishop of Bellary displayed an unflinching spirit of sacrifice and toiled in his capacity as priest and bishop for the spread of the gospel in the diocese.
 
Bishop Ambrose P. Yeddanapally: 
 
Bishop Hogan was succeeded by another great Franciscan Bishop Ambrose Yeddanapalli, ofm, a dynamic and energetic person who walked on the path blazed by his predecessor and built up the diocese from almost nothing.
 
Bishop Joseph D'Silva: 
 
Most Rev. Joseph D'Silva was appointed as the third Bishop of Bellary on October 27, 1992, by Pope John Paul II and took charge on March 9, 1993. Being a great pastor in a short span of 8 years between 1993 and 2000, he has started and built up 16 new parishes in different districts of Bellary diocese.
 
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Diocese of Bellary and Yesu Krist Jayanthi-2000, a beautiful shrine of Mother Mary of Bellary cum Biblical Museum has been built to stand as the monumental edifice of our eternal tribute to Mother Mary who guided the Diocese of Bellary all these 50 years in the path of her son Jesus Christ. September 8, 2000, the day of inauguration of this shrine cum Biblical Museum, is to be recorded with red-letters in the annals of the diocese for the great reason that on this day , the golden jubilee of the diocese and Yesu Krist Jayanthi-2000 were celebrated very grandly.

Bishop HENRY D'SOUZA
Born: Sept. 09, 1949
Priestly Ordn: May. 05, 1976
Appointed Bishop of Bellary: Mar. 15, 2008
Episcopal ordn: Jun. 12, 2008

Address: 
Bishop of Bellary,
Bishop's House,
Cantonment Bellary,
Karnataka - 583 104.
 
Tel: (08392) 40 315
Fax: (08392) 40 308
E-mail: bphousebly@hotmail.com, hdsouzain@gmail.com    
Website: http://www.bellarydiocese.com
 
Area: 41,217 sq. kms.
Total population: 64,96,450
Catholics: 25,450
Languages spoken: Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Konkani and English.
Revenue districts: Bellary, Koppal, Gulbarga and Raichur.
 
Statistics
Diocesan Clergy: 68
Religious Priests: 15
Religious Brothers: 01
Religious Women: 217
No. of Parishes: 44
Houses of Women Religious: 18
Houses of Men Religious: 06
 
Formation Houses
Minor Seminary: 01
Others: 01
 
No. of Educational Institutions: 56
Technical Institutions: 13        
Students: 860
Sr. Secondary Schools (10+2): 01        
Students: 325
High Schools (10th std.): 20        
Students: 9,472
Primary Schools: 30      
Students: 20,907
Hospitals: 04     
Beds: 150
Dispensaries: 10