Fr Peter Saldanha appointed Mangaluru Diocese Bishop

The Vatican has appointed Fr Peter Paul Saldanha as 14th Bishop of the Mangaluru Diocese. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Bishop’s House in Mangaluru.

The dates of the Episcopal ordination and the installation will be announced later.

Fr Saldanha was born on April 27, 1964, at the Kirem parish and was ordained on May 6, 1991. He earned the first rank in the Bachelor of Theology and briefly served as an assistant parish priest at Moodubelle parish (now Udupi diocese) and in Milagres Parish, Mangaluru. In 1996, he was appointed professor at the St Joseph’s Seminary, Jeppu, Mangaluru.

Later, he left for Rome for higher studies. He earned a Licentiate in 2001 and PhD in Dogmatic Theology in 2005 from Pontifical Urban University. He has been serving as Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Pontifial Urbanian University, Rome, since 2010.

He has authored the book “The Church: Mystery of Love and Communion.”

The Mangalore Diocese has 2,48,860 Catholics in 124 parishes in Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod districts.

The present Bishop Rev Fr Aloysius Paul D’Souza has served the diocese for 22 years. He will continue to be the Apostolic administrator till the new Bishop takes charge of the Diocese.