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Mangalore: Pope Francis on Friday July 11 appointed Fr Ignatius D’Souza, vicar general of the diocese of Lucknow, as the new bishop of Bareilly, succeeding Bishop Anthony Fernandes whose resignation has been accepted. The appointment of the new bishop was announced simultaneously in Rome, Bareilly and Lucknow at 3.30 pm (IST).

Fr Ignatius D’ Souza was born on August 4, 1964 to the late C L D’Souza and Lucy D’Souza in a family of five boys and seven girls at Basrikatte, diocese of Chikmagalure in Karnataka. Since 1993 they belong to St Dominic Parish, Ashoknagar in Mangalore.

After high school education at Kadur he joined St Paul’s Minor Seminary in view of becoming a priest for the diocese of Lucknow. He completed Philosophical and Theological studies at St Joseph’s Regional Seminary in Allahabad. He was ordained by late Archbishop Cecil De Sa on April 7, 1991 at St Joseph’s Cathedral Lucknow. The Bishop-elect holds a BTh degree from St Joseph’s Regional Seminary, a BA and an MA in public administration from Annamalai University. He obtained licentiate in Biblical studies from the Pontifical Gregorian University and doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

The Bishop-elect started his priestly life as the Assistant priest at St Joseph’s Cathedral, Lucknow and for two years he was Vice Principal of Cathedral School (1991-1993); then he was appointed Professor at St Paul’s Minor Seminary (1994). He procured licentiate in Biblical studies in Rome (1994-1998). Subsequently he was Assistant and Vice Principal at St Anthony’s, Barabanki (1999). 

After a three-year stint as the director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre (2000-2003), he obtained doctorate in Biblical Theology from Pontifical Urban University in Rome (2003-2006). The Bishop-elect was assigned at the Cathedral for a second time (2007). Since 2008 he served as the parish priest of Cathedral and vicar general of the Diocese. He was also appointed the director of Clergy Home in 2014. From 1999 he was visiting professor of Sacred Scripture at St Joseph’s Regional Seminary, Allahabad. He worked as the director of Ecumenism and Inter Religious Dialogue during 2008-2014 and was well known among the Christian denominations and people of other faiths in Lucknow. The Bishop-elect was instrumental in building a School for the Visually Impaired at Mohanlalganj, Lucknow.

The Bishop-elect is fluent in Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Hindi and English besides German and Italian. Furthermore he holds diploma in Latin, Hebrew and Greek languages. He is popular for teaching Sacred Scripture, preaching retreats, humane approach, capacity for hard work and administrative abilities. One of his elder sisters Sr Margarita, is the headmistress of Maryknoll Higher Primary School at Barkur. His younger brother Fr Paul Melwyn D’ Souza Ofm Cap (Pamedi) is currently pursuing doctorate at Zürich in Switzerland. His cousin Fr Melwyn Rodrigues is a priest of Lucknow diocese currently serving as the director of diocesan social works. His uncle Fr J B Crasta, the parish priest of Cathedral of Mangalore said, "God has blessed my nephew with many gifts. He will be a good shepherd to the people Bareilly. We pray to the Lord to bless him to carry out his mission successfully."

On January 19, 1989, Pope John Paul II (St John Paul) erected the diocese of Bareilly carving out six districts of the Diocese of Lucknow in the State of Uttar Pradesh. With the creation of the new State of Uttarakhand and with the further division of the districts the Catholic diocese of Bareilly now comprises of nine districts of two northern states, viz Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Philibhit from Uttar Pradesh and the districts of Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Almorah, Bageshwar, Pithoragrah, and Champawat from the State of Uttarakhand. It covers 32,229 square kilometers where 10,249,596 people live, including 6,435 (0.1%) are Catholics. Its 43 parishes are served by 58 priests (42 diocesan and 16 religious), 8 religious brothers and 270 sisters.