Srikakulam: On November 9, the diocese of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh restarted the diocesan institute named St. Teresa of Child Jesus Minor Seminary.
Some years ago, the seminary was closed for some reason, Bishop Rayarala Vijay Kumar, told Matters India.
During the blessing of the seminary with a group of new students, he urged priests, nuns and the laity to pray that this [seminary] may produce so many local vocations to the diocese of Srikakulam, he added.
Bishop Rayarala, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, took over the diocese in September 2019.
The diocese was erected in 1993 curving out from the Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam.
The diocesan territory covers the civil district of Srikakulam and taluks of Kurupam, Parvathipuram, Cheepurupalli and Gummalakshmipuram of Vizianagaram district.
Telegus are the major ethnic groups. The diocesan area has a substantial number of tribals. In the diocesan territory, people speak Telegu, Oriya and English.
According to the Vatican data of 2017, the diocese has 3,808,756 Catholics. It has 49 diocesan priests, 17 male religious clergy and 125 nuns serving in 36 parishes.