Bishop Sebastian Thekethecheril of Vijayapuram announced on March 27, 2026, that he received a decree elevating the Mount Carmel Church as a Minor Basilica from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments.
The papal “visit to Indonesia, Singapore, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea has now been moved to early September,” reported America, a monthly Catholic magazine published by the Jesuits of the United States.
Archbishop Couto emphasized the importance of understanding the biblical text that anoints one to "proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord, to bring good tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and to let the oppressed go free."
