By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, Dec. 3, 2018: Pope Francis on Dec. 3 appointed Bishop Elias Gonsalves as the new archbishop of Nagpur.
This was announced at noon in Rome and its corresponding time in India, according to a press release from the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
Nagpur archdiocese was vacant following the death of archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of a massive heart attack on April 19, 2018.
Archbishop-designate Elias Gonsalves was born on July 4, 1961, in Chulna village, Maharashtra state, western India.
He studied at St. Pius X Seminary, Mumbai and was ordained priest on April 1, 1990, in Vasai, for the archdiocese of Bombay.
He has a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Bombay University and a diploma in social development and community building from the Coady Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada.
He has served as pastor of several parishes and was the Youth coordinator for South Vasai Deanery.
On July 11, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Amravati diocese and ordained on September 29.
Before his appointment as bishop, he was the director of Social Work of the archdiocese of Bombay.