Vijayawada (CBCI News): Archbishop-designate of Vishakapatnam  Bishop Prakash Mallavarapu was given a grand farewell by the clergy, religious and faithful of the diocese of Vijayawada, August 7. The event held at Gundala Marian Shrine was attended by more than 120 priests, several hundred nuns and thousands of faithful. They thanked God for “the services of a kind hearted, good shepherd who steered the diocese to greater heights and a harmonious spiritual empowerment for a decade.” 

Bishop Prakash presided over the concelebrated Eucharist. He  thanked God for the decade long peaceful growth the diocese achieved,  and the support he received from all to carry out his responsibilities as the shepherd. Fr. Marianna, a priest of the diocese, in his homily mentioned the numerous spiritual animation programmes the bishop launched, and the tireless energy with which he worked, his care for the education of poor Catholic children, his efforts to establish many schools, hostels and boarding homes, the scholarships he started, and his determination to bring literacy and empowerment to the local church. He also lauded the wisdom and spiritual acumen of the bishop for building a sound catholic atmosphere in the diocese which has benefitted the local church a lot, he pointed out.  Fr. Marianna noted as a milestone towards making the diocese self –reliant through the beautiful commercial block he set up.

 

The CRI local unit while thanking the bishop recalled how he established a friendly atmosphere in the diocese and encouraged the religious to serve the local church in the fields of health, education, social assistance, and women empowerment. 

The Archdiocese of Vishakapatnam, which Bishop Prakash has been chosen to lead, comprises of the districts Vishakapatnam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari,  and has a Catholic population of  250,186. The archdiocese has 154, priests and over 500 religious. Vishakapatnam has a 160 years old history of Christianity. Bishop Prakash succeeds Archbishop Mariadas Kagithapu M.S.F.S. whose resignation has been accepted by the Pope, as the metropolitan of the archdiocese of Vishakapatnam. Bishop Prakash will  be installed as  the Archbishop of Vishakapatnam on August 9 by the Apostolic Nuncio Salvatore Pennacchio.

 

Born in 1949 Bishop Prakash was ordained a priest in 1979 and was appointed Bishop of Cuddapah on 22nd July 1998 He was appointed bishop of Vijayawada on July 22nd in the year 2002. 

-Sr. Benigna Menezes