By Jose Kavi
New Delhi: Pope Francis on March 19 appointed Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum as the new archbishop of Bangalore.
Archbishop-elect Machado replaces Archbishop Bernard Moras, who has resigned from pastoral care of the archdiocese on attaining superannuation, says a press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
The appointment was announced at noon in Rome and its corresponding time of 4:30 pm in India.
Archbishop Moras will remain the archdiocese’s administrator until his successor takes charge, said the press release signed by Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the conference.
The new archbishop was born on May 26, 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1978 for Karwar diocese. On March 30, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the fifth bishop of Karwar diocese.
He was born in Honnavar in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district as the son of Aveline and Anthony Machado. He joined St. Michael’s Seminary, Belgaum, before completing his matriculation. He continued his high school studies at St. Paul’s High School in Belgaum and was later sent to Papal Seminary in Pune for philosophical and theological studies. He has a commerce degree from Pune University and a doctorate in Canon Law from Urban University, Rome.