Amravati bishop is new archbishop of Nagpur

Nagpur: Rev Elias Gonsalves has been appointed as the new archbishop of Nagpur. The announcement was received from archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, Apostolic Nuncioa as Pontifical Secret, and was made public on Monday at 4.30pm when it was announced at Rome. The appointment of the archbishop is done by the Pope, who selects a name from among those given to him by the Papal Nuncio or the ambassador.
The new archbishop was the bishop of Amravati. Born on July 4, 1961, he hails from Chuine in Maharashtra. He was ordained to priesthood on April 11, 1990, and holds a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Bombay University, and a diploma in social development and community building from Coady Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Archbishop Gonsalves has served as pastor of several parishes and was the dean of Raigad deanery. He was appointed bishop of Amravati Diocese on April 11, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI. Before taking over as the bishop he was the director of social work at the archdiocese of Bombay. As bishop, he has been in-charge of catholic education in Western Region Catholic Bishop’s Council.

The new archbishop comes in place of Rev Abraham Viruthakulangara, who passed away this year on April 19 in Delhi due to a heart attack.