Bhubaneswar: Pope Francis on Monday erected a new diocese in Odisha, eastern India, and appointed former Vincentian novice master Father Aplinar Senapati as its first bishop.
This was simultaneously announced at 3:30 pm Indian time in Rome, New Delhi and Odisha.
Rayagada was carved out Berhampur diocese in western Odisha. It is the 171st Catholic diocese in India and sixth in Odisha, under Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese.
Odisha witnessed the worst anti-Christian violence in modern Indian history in 2008. The Church continues to face problems in the state.
The 39,368 sq km diocese covers the civil districts of Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada. It has population 5,407,894, mostly Hindus. The languages spoken in the area are Odia, Telugu, Hindi, English, Saura and Kui.
The diocese has 50,542 Catholics living in 23 parishes, 377 mission stations. They are served by 30 diocesan and 12 religious priests, 104 nuns, 270 catechists. The diocese has eight men and 25 women religious congregations.
At the time of appointment, the bishop-elect was the parish priest at Derapather, Nuagaon, Assam.
Fr Senapati was born on October 28, 1960 at Dantolingi, near Surada in Ganjam district, a parish under Berhampur diocese. His father is Narcis Senapati and mother Rosemary. He has three brothers and two sisters, including a nun.
He joined the Congregation of Missions, a Vincentian congregation, in 1984 and took his religious vows five years later.
He studied philosophy at Aquinas College, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha, and theology at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, a Pontifical University in Pune. He was ordained a priest on November 28, 1990 at Surada.
He completed his MA in Economics and Philosophy from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
He also has a diploma in psychology and religious formation from the National Vocation Service Centre in Pune, western India.
He was the vocation promoter for the congregation for three years from 1990. During the same period, he served as the assistant director for retreat preaching in Berhampur diocese. He also directed Marian Youth in the diocese and was a core team of formators of the province.
He then taught in the congregation’s minor seminary at Baripada for three years
After a one-year break, he became the assistant parish priest of Jubaguda, a parish in Kandhamal district, where he also served as the principal of the Odia medium school. At the same time he was appointed secretary of the Orissa Catholic Bishops’ Council
He translated Gospel of St John, St John’s letters and the Book of Revelation into Odia, the language of Odisha.
After serving several other parishes, he became the novice master at Stella Maris Gopalpur in 2008, a post he held for six years.
He went to Assam in 2014 where he looked after the spiritual needs of some 3,000 Catholics spread over 29 villages under Guwahati archdiocese.
Many priests of the area have welcomed the new diocese and bishop.
Vincential Father Francis Puthenthayil, working in Berhampur diocese, said the bishop-elect has the experience of working in rural areas. “He could be a good pastor. He knows the lives of the poor people and he was adjusting with them. He will be able to journey with them,” he told Matters India.
Fr Ashok Kuamr Singh, a priest of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, said, “The creation of new diocese and appointment of Father Senapati is a call to serve the brothers and sisters of the area and journey with their concerns with trust in God.
Another Church leader, Fr Ajay Kumar Singh, who coordinates the Church’s social service works in Odisha, expressed the hope the new bishop will help restore human dignity among the marginalized people of the state. “I am quite happy about him as I have seen his social action,” Fr Singh told Matters India.
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