HISTORY

Organized Christian presence and establishment of Christian sacred places and institutions in Bihar date back to year 1620 when a Jesuit missionary, Simon Figueredo, came to Patna on the invitation and under the patronage of the Mughal Governor of Patna, John Maquarrum Khan, who had been converted a Catholic earlier while serving in Goa. But the Mission had to be closed down in 1621, due to opposition from certain sections of the Muslim gentry.

The second phase of Christian Mission in Bihar was initiated in 1707, when the Italian Capuchin Missionaries, under the Tibet-Hindustan Mission, came to Patna en route to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, their mission area proper, and established a hospice in Patna City. The Congregation for the Propagation of Faith had erected the Prefecture of Tibet-Hindustan in 1703 and had entrusted it to the Capuchin Fathers of the Italian Province of Picenum in the Marches of Ancona. For nearly 41 years the Capuchin Missionaries worked in Lhasa until a religious persecution forced them to give up their mission and move to Kathmandu (Nepal) in 1745.

Nepal had seen the Capuchin Missionaries working with varying success in Kathmandu since 1715. But the Mission of Nepal had to be abandoned in 1769 and the 5 missionaries with 62 Nepalese Christians and five catechumens moved to India. They settled down at Chuhari near Bettiah. Father Joseph Mary Ofm. Cap, a saintly priest, founded the Bettiah Mission in 1745, after the King of Bettiah, Raja Druva Singh, had personally sought and obtained permission from Pope Benedict XIV.

When both Tibet and Nepal ceased to be the areas of operation of the Capuchins, the identity of the Mission, changed to Hindustan-Tibet Mission by conventional use. Functionally its jurisdiction was only Bihar. In the north western India, the Jesuit Mission founded in 1580 during the time of Emperor Akbar, came to be established as the Vicariate of the Great Moghul. But when the Society of Jesus was suppressed in 1773, the Carmelites from north Bombay were asked to shoulder it. But since the Carmelites could not continue, the Capuchins from the Prefecture Apostolic of Hindustan-Tibet were asked to take responsibility for it on May 17, 1784. Thus, the Capuchins from Bihar obtained the additional vast territory of entire north and north-western India as its mission area, with Patna as its headquarters. This Prefecture was raised to a Vicariate Apostolic on April 23, 1820, re-christening it as the Vicariate Apostolic of Agra, and shifting its headquarters from Patna to Agra. The first Bishop was Zenovbius Mary Venucci. Since the area was so vast to be managed from Agra, the Agra Vicariate was bifurcated on Feb 7, 1845, creating a new Patna Vicariate, headquartered at Patna, while Agra Vicariate, remaining headquartered at Agra. Bishop Anastasuis Hartmann was appointed as the first Vicar Apostolic of Patna. He was consecrated bishop at Agra on 15th March, 1846. The mission stations in Bihar (Patna, Bettiah, Chuhari, Danapur, Bhagalpur, Monghyr, Purnea), besides Nepal and Sikkim became part of Patna Vicariate. Tibet being inaccessible, was detached formally from the India mission.

Meanwhile, in 1861 the kingdom of Oudh, the region of Bundelkhand, with Sagar, the state of Bhopal, and the district of Kanpur were separated from Agra Vicariate and annexed to the Vicariate of Patna. Since the region of Patna Vicariate became larger, a more central city, Allahabad, was chosen by Hartmann's successor, Bishop Paul Tosi, in 1868 to be the headquarters with its name remaining the same, Patna Vicariate. On the establishment of the Indian Hierarchy on 1st September, 1886 the Vicariate of Patna was erected into a Diocese with the name Allahabad Diocese. Further, in 1886, the northern missions of Bihar state were entrusted to the Tyrolese Capuchins and in May 1892, the north Bihar missions, Bhagalpur, Monghyr and Nepal were made into Bettiah-Nepal Prefecture. On September 10, 1919 Allahabad Diocese was divided creating the new Patna Diocese with the existing mission stations in central Bihar and the region of Bettiah-Nepal Prefecture under its jurisdiction. Fr. Louis Van Hoeck, SJ of Ranchi Mission was consecrated the first bishop of the newly created Patna Diocese on March 6, 1921. Patna Diocese was entrusted to the American Missouri Jesuits, who arrived on March 16, 1921.

In 1859 Bishop Zuber of Patna resigned from his office, and Bishop Hartmann was reappointed Vicar Apostolic of Patna on the 24th January, 1860. He governed Patna till his death on 24th April 1866.

With the division of the Missouri Province, Patna Diocese was entrusted in 1930 to the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. In 1938, the Third Order Regular (TOR) Franciscan Fathers from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. came to Patna Diocese to assist the Jesuits. The mission stations of Bhagalpur, Godda, Gokhla and Poreyahat were assigned to them.

Most Rev. Bernard Sullivan, SJ succeeded Bishop Louis Van Hoeck SJ in 1929. At that time there were 4,688 Indian and 1,624 European Catholics in the diocese. When Bishop Sullivan returned to USA in 1947, the Diocese had about 22,000 Catholics, 12 Diocesan and 62 Religious priests, 140 Sisters and 15 Brothers. Father Augustine Wildermuth, SJ, who had been in the Mission since 1927, was ordained the third Jesuit bishop of Patna on October 28, 1947. During his time, in 1956, Bhagalpur was made a prefecture and later a Diocese in 1965 with Msgr. Urban McGarry TOR as its first Bishop.

On March 28, 1980, Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Augustine Wildermuth, SJ and bifurcated Patna Diocese into two units of Muzaffarpur and Patna Dioceses. The Nepal Mission was attached to Patna Diocese. Fr. Benedict J Osta, SJ was appointed Bishop of Patna, while Fr. John B Thakur, SJ was appointed Bishop of Muzaffarpur. In 1984 Nepal Mission was separated from Patna and was made "Missio sui juris". In 1998, the Diocese of Bettiah was carved out of Muzaffarpur Diocese with Most Rev. Victor Henry Thakur as its first Bishop.

In 1999, His Holiness Pope John Paul II elevated the Diocese of Patna, till now a suffragan Diocese of the Archdiocese of Ranchi, into an Archdiocese appointing Bishop Benedict J Osta, SJ, as its first Archbishop. Pope Benedict XVI further divided the Archdiocese of Patna in 2005 with the newly erected Diocese of Buxar consisting of the four civil districts of Buxar, Bhojpur, Bhabua and Rohtas in Bihar. Fr. William D'Souza, S.J, was ordained as its first Bishop in 2006.

Archbishop Benedict J. Osta S.J sent in his resignation in 2006 and it was accepted by the Holy Father in 2007. Most Rev. William D'Souza, S.J., the bishop of Buxar, was appointed as Archbishop of Patna Archdiocese on October 1, 2007. His installation as the Archbishop of Patna was on December 9, 2007.

The Holy Father Pope Francis appointed Most Rev. Sebastian Kallupura Bishop of Buxar as the co-adjutor Bishop of Patna Archdiocese on 29 June, 2018. On 10 August, 2018 he was installed as Co-adjutor Bishop of Patna Archdiocese at St. Joseph’s Pro-cathedral, Bankipur, Patna. His installation as Archbishop of Patna was on 29th December 2020.