By Matters India Reporter
VATICAN CITY September 1, 2026: The office bearers of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Aug. 28, holding a cordial 45‑minute discussion on the life, mission and pastoral concerns of the Latin Catholic Church in India.
The delegation was led by Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, president of the CCBI and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, and archbishop of Goa and Daman. He was joined by Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, vice president of the CCBI; Archbishop Vincent Aind of Ranchi, secretary general; and Rev. Dr. Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general.
The meeting coincided with the Feast of St. Augustine, patron saint of the Augustinian Order to which Pope Leo belongs. The bishops conveyed festal greetings and presented several gifts symbolizing India’s Catholic heritage and cultural diversity.
Cardinal Ferrão offered a hand‑carved oak plaque depicting Jesus Christ with 12 saints linked to the Indian Church, including St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. Alphonsa.
The plaque was crafted by Raphael, a state award‑winning sculptor from Kerala. Archbishops Machado and Aind presented a traditional Kasavu shawl from Kerala and a Pattu shawl from Kashmir, along with five varieties of tea from Darjeeling, Assam and the Nilgiris.
Rev. Dr. Alathara gifted the Holy Father the CCBI’s pastoral plan, “Journeying Towards a Synodal Church: Mission 2033*\”, and the Bhubaneswar Document of the 36th plenary assembly. He also presented the English Standard Version Catholic Bible, approved by the CCBI in 2019, published near Chicago, the pope’s birthplace.
“It was a very friendly meeting, and the Holy Father was extremely cordial with us,” Cardinal Ferrão said. “Pope Leo knows the Church in India well. He appreciated the efforts of the Latin Church in India, particularly the preparation and publication of the Pastoral Plan.”
The encounter marked the first time CCBI office bearers visited the pope together as a delegation. The CCBI represents 132 dioceses, 217 bishops, 564 religious congregations and nearly 18 million Latin Catholics across India.
(Photo supplied)