Fr. Pius Thomas D’Souza of Agrar becomes bishop of Ajmer

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 4, 2012: Fr. Pius Thomas D’Souza, who hails from Agrar, has been appointed as the new bishop of Ajmer in Rajasthan. Currently, he is the chancellor of Bareilly Diocese.

Fr. D’Souza is the holder of a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urban University, Rome.

The Ajmer Diocese comprises 10 parishes served by 14 priests, 21 brothers, 23 seminarians, and 402 nuns. It sprawls over an area of 146,681sq.kms and has a population of 9,190 Catholics.

Fr. D’Souza is the successor of 76-year-old Fr. Ignatius Menezes, who has been serving as the bishop since 1979,

Agrar parish has so far produced the largest number of bishops. Dr. Valerian D’Souza and Dr. Victor R. Fernandes, the first two bishops of Mangalore Diocese, were from Agrar. Dr. Ignatius, former bishop of Ajmer, Dr. Aloysius P. D’Souza, bishop of Mangalore, and Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop of Udupi, are all from Ajmer.