About the Diocese of Mysore

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mysore (Latin: Diœcesis Mysuriensis; Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು ಧರ್ಮಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ) is a Latin Rite suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bangalore, serving the Catholic faithful across the southern districts of Karnataka, India.

Patron and the Cathedral

The diocese is placed under the patronage of Saint Joseph. Its cathedral is St Philomena’s Cathedral in Mysuru — one of the largest neo-Gothic churches in India and a treasured spiritual landmark of the city.

Territory

The Diocese of Mysore extends over 21,051 km² covering the civil districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu in the State of Karnataka. The faithful of the diocese are served in Kannada, English, Tamil, Telugu and Konkani.

Mission

Rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and faithful to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the Diocese of Mysore is committed to evangelisation, the celebration of the sacraments, the formation of clergy and laity, the education of youth, the care of the sick and the integral development of all people — especially the poor and the marginalised.

Quick Facts

• Latin name: Diœcesis Mysuriensis
• Established as Pro-Vicariate: 16 March 1845
• Promoted to Vicariate Apostolic: 3 April 1850
• Elevated to Diocese: 1 September 1886
• Metropolitan See: Archdiocese of Bangalore
• Rite: Latin (Roman)
• Cathedral: St Philomena’s Cathedral, Mysuru
• Patron: St Joseph

A BRIEF HISTORY

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.