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The Archdiocese of Nagpur is situated roughly in the middle of India. It now comprises the districts of Nagpur, Gondia & Bhandara in Maharashtra State, and the districts of Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. The Diocese was originally formed by dismemberment of what was then known as the Central Provinces and Berar, from the Diocese of Visakhapatnam in 1887. It was entrusted to the care of Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales. On July 18, 1932 the Brief “De Romanorum Pontificum” erected the Prefecture of Jabalpur (now Diocese) by separating from Diocese of Nagpur and Allahabad, the districts of Jabalpur, Mandla, Narsinghpur and the tehsil of Lakhnadon is Seoni District. Again on March 11, 1935, the Decree ‘Salutis Animarum’ of the S.C. of the Propagation of the Faith erected the Prefecture of Indore (now Diocese) comprising parts of the Diocese of Ajmer, Allahabad and Nagpur, namely, the districts of Hoshangabad and Khandwa. Further on May 8, 1955 the Decree ‘Cum Petierit’ erected the Diocese of Amravati by taking away from the Nagpur Archdiocese the four districts of berar (Amravati, Akola, Buldanha and Yeotmal) and the three districts of Marathwada (Aurangabad and parts of Parbhani and Nanded- the other parts of Parbhani and Nanded belonged to the Archdiocese of Hyderabad). On March 31, 1962, the Apostolic Decree “Ad lucen Sancti Evangelii erected the Exarchate of Chanda from the three districts of Wardha, Chanda and Adilabad, till then part of Nagpur Archdiocese. This was entrusted to the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, of the Syro-Malabar Rite. In 1976 Chanda Exarchate was made in to a Diocese. On January 16, 1964 by the Bull ‘Religio Vera Christique Salus’, the districts of Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur were further detached from Nagpur Archdiocese to form the Prefecture of Raipur which was entrusted to the Pallotine Fathers and later given the status of Diocese in March 1974. In September 1953, Nagpur was raised to an Archbishopric, with Amravati, Aurangabad & Chanda as its Suffragans. Moat Rev. Eugene D’Souza was the first Indian Bishop and later Archbishop of Nagpur. |