On February 17, Pope Francis appointed Father Karnam Dhaman Kumar, M.S.F.S., as the Bishop of the Diocese of Nalgonda, South India.
He currently serves as Parish Priest of S. Bartolomäus in Münster and Superior Delegate of the M.S.F.S. Missionaries in Germany.
Father Kumar was born on November 16, 1963, in Vijayanagaram, in the Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam, in the State of Andhra Pradesh. After the novitiate in the M.S.F.S. Congregation at the Salesian in Visakhapatnam, he studied Philosophy at Suvidya College in Bangalore and Theology at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth in Pune.
He made his Perpetual Profession on December 3, 1989 and was ordained a priest on October 17, 1990. He held the following positions:
He became a deputy parish priest of the Mission, Elakathuruthy (1991–1993) before becoming parish priest of Chinnamanayunikota in 1993–1995.
He was also Rector of the Fransalian Vidya Jyothi Minor Seminary, Diocese of Eluru (1995–1998); Principal of St. Francis de Sales School, Diocese of Eluru (1998–2000); Rector of St. Pius Seminary and Administrator of St. Pius School (2000–2010); and Chaplain of S. Gertrudis, Horstmar and of S. Cosman et Damian, Horstmar-Laer, Diocese of Münster, Germany (2000–2012).
The priest was Rector of the St. Francis de Sales Theology Study House, Diocese of Eluru (2012–2013);
In the congregation, he served as Provincial Councillor of the M.S.F.S. Province of Visakhapatnam (2013–2016) and principal of St. Francis de Sales School, Shanti Nagar, Archdiocese of Hyderabad (2016–2017).
The former provincial also served as parish assistant of S. Gertrudis, Horstmar, Diocese of Münster, Germany (2017–2020). Since 2019, he has been the Superior Delegate of the M.S.F.S. Province in Germany, and since 2020, Parish Priest of S. Bartolomäus, Diocese of Münster, Germany.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nalgonda (Latin: Nalgondaen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Nalgonda in the Ecclesiastical Province of Hyderabad, India. This diocese was established on May 31, 1976.
Most Rev. Mathew Cheriakunnel, PIME, was the first bishop of Nalgonda (1977–1987); Bishop Innayya Addagatla was appointed as the second bishop; and Bishop Joji Govindu was appointed as the third bishop until July 31, 2021. Rev. Fr. Marneni Balaswamy was appointed as Administrator of Nalagonda Diocese on August 4, 2022. On October 29, 2022, Cardinal Anthony Poola of Hyderabad was appointed as Administrator of Nalgonda Diocese.
Nalgonda diocesan territory stretches over a land area of 32,661 square kilometers and comprises the civil districts of Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar.
The population in the diocese was 6,536,676 as of 2016. The main tribal group in the district is the Lambadas. There are 70 parishes with 76,300 Catholics in the Diocese of Nalgonda.
As many as 133 priests and 420 nuns work in various pastoral ministries. - With input from Pujitha Nagalli
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
