Vellore Diocese
The Diocese of Vellore was started by Salesians in the year 1952 carving out a portion from the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore. Further in 1969, few parishes from the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore were attached to this Diocese. It comprises two civil districts namely Vellore and Tiruvannamalai. There are 87 parishes having Catholic population of 1,50,000.
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Details
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Name : Catholic Diocese of Vellore
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Diocesan Patroness : Mary Help of Christians
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Secondary Patron : St Dominic Savio
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Secondary Patroness : St Maria Goretti
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Location : Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
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Area : 12,265 Sq.Kms
Diocese details
Vicariate Geographical
Vicariate
Parishes
Sub-Stations
Anbiams (BCC)
Associations / Clubs
Families
Schools
Colleges
Diocese
Vicariate
The eight vicariates of the Diocese have also Vicars Forane (dean) duly appointed. Eight Vicariates with its parishes are given below
Arakonam - Vicariate of Sacred Heart Of Jesus
Chetpet - Vicariate of Our Lady Of Lourdes
Polur – Vicariate of Sacred Heart Of Jesus
Tirupattur - Vicariate of Mary Help Of Christinas
Thiruvannmalai – Vicariate of Ulaga Madha (Regina Mundi)
Vandavasi – Vicariate of Scared Heart Of Jesus
Vellore cathedral- Vicariate Of Mary Help Of Christians
Vettavalam - Vicariate Of Immaculate Heart Of Mary
Parishes
Diocese of Vellore comprises of two civil districts namely Vellore and Thiruvannamalai. There are 87 canonically erected parishes and 2 mission stations. All the parishes have resident priests. In 22 parishes there are also Assistant Parish Priests at present. Most of the parishes have substations. Many parishes are remote villages having poor road facility. Only a few parishes are self-sufficient out of the 89 parishes.
73 Parishes run by Diocesan Priests
14 Parishes run by Congregations Priests
2 Mission Stations
Institutions
Our Catholic institutions, orphanages, colleges and schools take their place and give their children a Christian education. In Catholic Schools we have daily catechism classes for Catholic students. During this time general moral instruction is given to all non-Catholic students.
Schools
Technical Institute
Arts and Science Colleges
Professional Colleges
Hospitals
Orphanages
Priest Forum
Bishops
Totally 6 bishops were appointed, they are Bishop Paul Mariaselvam SDB (1953-54), Bishop David Marianayagam SDB (1956-69), Bishop Rayappan Antony Muthu (1971-80), Bishop Michael Augustine (1981-92), A.M. Chinnappa SDB (1994-2005) and Bishop Soundararaju Periyanayagam SDB (2005-2020)
Diocesan
There are 163 diocesan priests in our diocese. They are indigenous and are incardinated into the Diocese. The Curia gives Mass offerings to all the priests, who need them. The residence for the sick and aged priests is located at Madha Hill, Chetpet. They have a chapel where Blessed Sacrament is reserved for their Holy Mass and frequent visits and prayer.
Religious
12 Men Religious Congregations are rendering their wonderful service in various forms in the Diocese. 31 Women Religious Congregations are rendering their ministry in various forms in the Diocese Religious of these periodically gather in the bishop house to discuss the various problems that they encounter their ministry.
Diocesan Priests
Curia and Other Categories
There are nearly 110 priests working in and around diocese.
The List as follows
In Foreign and On Leave
Nearly 70 priest are working in abroad and other places
The List as follows
Obituary
We honour and remember the grateful services of the Priests.
The List as follows
Evangilization
COMMISSIONS
Various commissions are established to coordinate various programmes in the Diocese. Each commission has a secretary who coordinates programmes in the Vicariate and Diocesan level. He also cooperates with corresponding regional commission of Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Conference (TNBC) in macro level. Various commissions of our Diocese are given below:
Pastoral Commissions
Social Commissions
Formative commissions
COMMITTEES
Each Committees has Bishop as President and VG as Vice-President. Each Committees has a team of Priests and they look forward in various decision which ae based on respective committees. Dioceses has committees as
Finance Committee
Education Committee
Pastoral Project Committee
Social Project Committee
PIOUS GROUPS
All the pious associations in the parishes and institutions are animated well by a team of priests. They are oriented to impart religious education to the youth and children. The motto of one of the Association the Legion of Mary is purely in spirituality aimed in “Self Salvation and Salvation for others”. The principal lay Associations are the following: (list)
Legion of Mary
St.Vincent de Paul Society
Basic Christian Community (BCC)
RELIGIOSITY
Formation to grow in Divine Path is calling of the divine spirit to serve him and the human person through various activities like The main aspects of the popular religiosity are
Girivalam
Lenten pilgrimage to different
Pathayathirai-Foot pilgrimage
St.Antony’s devotion at Viruduvilanginaan
Schemes
Social Service
Besides Evangelization, Catechism and other Faith Formation programmes, our diocese fully involves in the social and economic growth of people. The three official wings of the Social Apostolate of the Diocese are:
VSSS (Vellore Social Service Society)
TVMSSS (Thiruvannamalai Multipurpose Social Service Society)
CODEP (Community Development Programmes)
Scholarships/ Financial Supports
A Scholarship is given to those who are studying schools, Graduation Courses and professional course, such as Medicine, Engineering, Computer Science, ITI, Nursing, etc. It is an incentive to them to meet their expenses, in some way.
Educational Scholarship by VSSS
CODEP Sponsorship Programme for Dalits: [CSPD]
Diocesan Educational Scholarship for Higher Education
Housed Loan Scheme for the teachers
