During the reign of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVI, the Mysore Mission was separated from the then-existing Vicariate Apostolic of Pondicherry on the 16th of March 1845 and was made into a Pro-Vicariate Apostolic. Later in 1850, His Holiness Pope Pius IX erected it into a Vicariate Apostolic and entrusted it to Rt. Rev. Msgr. E. L. Charbonneaux MEP, the co-adjutor Bishop of Pondicherry.
In 1886, when His Holiness Pope Leo XIII established the Indian Ecclesiastical Hierarchy by His Papal Bull “Humanae Salutis Auctor,” Mysore became a Diocese with Bangalore as its headquarters.
His Holiness Pope Pius XII by his Apostolic Letter “Felicius Increscente,” dated 13th February 1940, appointed Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rene Feuga MEP as the first Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Mysore, comprising the districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu, Shimoga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, the Nilgiris and a part of Coimbatore District. In the same year, the diocese of Bangalore was bifurcated from the Diocese of Mysore. Fifteen years later, by His Apostolic Letter “Nuntiatur in Psalmis” dated 3rd July 1955, His Holiness Pope Pius XII erected the new Diocese of Ootacamund (Ooty) separating it from the Diocese of Mysore, with the Nilgiris and a part of Coimbatore District in Tamilnadu. On 16th November 1963, His Holiness Pope Paul VI by His Apostolic Letter “Indicae Regionis Conditio,” created the new Diocese of Chikmagalur, bifurcating the districts of Chikmagalur, Hassan, and Shimoga from the existing Diocese of Mysore.
The present Diocese of Mysore comprises the four civil districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar. It is bordering clockwise on the Archdiocese of Bangalore, Ootacamund, Salem, Manandhavadi, Kannur, Calicut, Mangalore and Chikmagalur.
FORMER PRELATES OF MYSORE DIOCESE
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. Etienne Louis Charbonneaux 1845 – 1873
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Augustine Chevalier 1873 – 1880
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. Jean Yves Marie Coadou 1880 – 1886
BISHOPS OF MYSORE WITH HEADQUARTERS IN BANGALORE
- Rt. Rev. Dr. Jean Yves Marie Coadu 1886 – 1890
- Rt. Rev. Eugene Louis Kleiner 1890 – 1910
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. A. Basle 1910 – 1915
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. Hippolytus Tessier 1916 – 1921
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. Maurice Bernard Departures 1922 – 1940
BISHOPS OF PRESENT MYSORE DIOCESE
- Most Rev. Dr. Rene Feuga 1941 – 1964
- Most Rev. Dr. Albert V. D’Souza (Aux.Bishop) 1959 – 1961
- Most Rev. Dr. Mathias Fernandes 1964 – 1985
- Most Rev. Dr. Francis Michaelappa 1987 – 1993
- Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Roy 1995 – 2003
- Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Antony Vazhapilly 2003 – 2017
- Most Rev. Dr. K. Antony William 2017 – 13/01/2024
- Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Moras, Apostolic Administrator 07/01/2023 onwards