By Jose Kavi

New Delhi, Sept. 30, 2021: Delhi archdiocese’s new auxiliary bishop says he will work hard to bring spiritual revival in the Catholic Church in the national capital.

“A spiritual revival in myself, among the clergy, religious and the faithful is my vision right now,” says Monsignor Deepak Valerian Tauro, who was on consecrated as the Delhi auxiliary September 29 in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in the national capital.

He was ordained a bishop by Emeritus Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi, assisted by Archbishop Anil J Couto of Delhi and Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas of Shimla-Chandigarh.

More than 165 invitees, including 15 archbishops and bishops, priests and nuns from the archdiocese and family members of Bishop Tauro attended the ceremonies.

The Mass was followed by a public reception presided over by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli. Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla, Justice Kurian Joseph, former judge of the Supreme Court of India and Vincent Pala, a Member of Parliament also attended the functions.

The 54-year-old new prelate, a priest of Muzaffarpur diocese in Bihar, was the rector of St Albert’s College in Ranchi, Jharkhand, when Pope Francis on July 16 appointed him the Delhi auxiliary.

After his episcopal ordination, Bishop Tauro said his priority is pastoral work, celebration of Sacraments and sacramentals and administration wherever it is required.

“I wish to build up and maintain a good rapport with the archbishop, clergy, religious and the faithful first. I will wait for the time to reveal to me the other priorities of Delhi Archdiocese and Church in India,” he told Father Savarimuthu Sankar, the public relations officer of the archdiocese.

Bishop Tauro was born on August 2, 1967, as the fourth among seven children of late Camil Tauro and Mary D’Souza. He has one brother and four sisters. He has lost one elder brother served in the Indian Army. His parents celebrated 64 years of marriage life and died in 2019 within a gap of 10 days.

Bishop Tauro completed his early schooling from St. Joseph’s Convent School and St. Joseph’s Boys High School, Chikmagalur, Karnataka state. He did his PUC from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state.

He has a Masters in Spirituality and Counseling from Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram in the Karnataka capital of Bengaluru. He started his priestly ministry as assistant parish priest at Samastipur in 1996. After a year he went to Bettiah as it assistant parish priest. In 1999, he was appointed rector of the Minor Seminary in Muzaffarpur, a post he held thrice 1999-2002, 2005-2007 and 2010-2011.

He served as the secretary to the bishop for three years from 2007. He also worked the director of Diocesan Youth Forum, regional secretary of Conference of Diocesan Priests of India.

He was professor and spiritual director at Ranchi’s St. Albert’s College, Ranchi during 2011-2015. Since 2012, he has served as the secretary of Bihar, Jharkhand and Andaman’s Bishops Council and since 2015, the rector of St. Albert’s College, Ranchi.

Bishop Tauro’s father, a bus conductor with the Karnataka State Transport Company, won the best worker award four times, a record until now. He was later promoted as Traffic control officer in the same corporation.

Despite their struggles, the bishop’s parents ensured their children got proper education.

Asked what inspired him to become a priest Bishop Tauro said his proximity to the church instilled in him the desire to become a priest. His school and playground were next to the church campus. He served as an altar boy from the sixth grade until he joined the seminary.

“The joy of priesthood is what I cherish the most. I am a very happy priest. The joy comes from the countless blessings I have received from God. I consider myself to be a very lucky person because of what God has done to me in my life,” he added.

On his role as a bishop in the national capital, he said, “I see it as God’s wish and gift for me to rededicate myself to the Lord and His mission. I understand well that power is meant for service. I wish to maintain cordial and healthy relationship with all, certainly based on Gospel values.”

The archdiocese of Delhi was without an auxiliary after Bishop Franco Mulakkal was transferred to Jalandhar in Punjab as its third bishop. The first auxiliary was Vincent Concessao, who was later promoted as the archbishop of Agra in 1998. He was brought back to Delhi as its archbishop after the accidental death of Archbishop Alan de Lastic in 2000.

Catholic population in Delhi archdiocese is about 100,300, spread over 61 parishes. They are served by 132 diocesan priests, 157 religious priests and 413 women religious.

The Delhi archdiocese was part of the Archdiocese of Shimla established in 1910, carving out of Archdioceses of Agra and Lahore. In 1937, it was renamed as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Delhi and Shimla. The Delhi archdiocese was established in 1959, with Joseph Alexander Fernandes as its first archbishop.

Archbishop Couto, the current metropolitan, is its fifth prelate.