New Delhi, 7 June 2025 (CCBI): Pope Leo XIV has appointed Fr Jose Sebastian Thekkumcherikunnel as the new Bishop of Jalandhar in Punjab. The announcement was made on Saturday, 7 June 2025. Fr Jose, aged 63, is currently serving as the Financial Administrator of the Diocese.
Fr Jose was born on Christmas Eve in 1962 in Kalaketty, under the Diocese of Palai. He was ordained a priest on 1 May 1991 for the Diocese of Jalandhar.
He began his priestly formation in 1978 at the minor seminary in Trichur. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Charles Inter-Diocesan Seminary, Nagpur, between 1982 and 1991. He later obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome from 2002 to 2004.
Fr Jose began his ministry as Assistant Parish Priest at St. Mary’s Church in Fatehgarh Churian, while also teaching at the Minor Seminary in Amritsar. He then served as Parish Priest at St. Joseph’s Church in Khasa and Sacred Heart Church on Majitha Road, Amritsar. He was later appointed Vice Rector of the Minor Seminary, Assistant Director, and later Principal of St. Francis School.
From 1996 to 2002, he served as Dean and Parish Priest of St. Francis Church in Amritsar and later at Jandiala Guru. He was also a member of the Diocesan Board of Education, the Presbyteral Council, and the Charismatic Team.
After his studies in Rome, he returned to Jalandhar to serve as Vice Chancellor, Defender of the Bond, and Director of Village Catechesis. From 2007 to 2020, he was Chancellor and Judicial Vicar of the Diocese. He also taught at the Holy Trinity Regional Major Seminary in Jalandhar and served as Head of the Theology Department and a member of the seminary’s governing council.
From 2020 to 2022, Fr Jose served as Rector and Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Jalandhar Cantonment. Since 2022, he has been the Financial Administrator of the Diocese. He is currently the Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Church in Phagwara and Director of St. Joseph’s Convent School.
History of the Diocese
The Diocese of Jalandhar was originally part of the Diocese of Lahore, under Belgian Capuchin missionaries. After the Partition of India in 1947, Pope Pius XII established the Apostolic Prefecture of Jalandhar on 17 January 1952. It was entrusted to the British Capuchins, with Msgr. Francis Alban Swarbrick as the first Prefect.
Pope Paul VI elevated the Prefecture to the status of a diocese on 6 December 1971 and appointed Bishop Symphorian Keeprath as its first bishop. He was succeeded by Bishop Anil Couto in 2007, who served until his transfer as Archbishop to Delhi in 2012. Bishop Franco Mulakkal was appointed in 2013 but stepped aside from office in 2018. Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay, has been serving as Apostolic Administrator since then.
The Diocese of Jalandhar covers 18 districts in Punjab and parts of Himachal Pradesh. It has 1,23,434 Catholics, 214 priests, 897 religious sisters, and 147 parishes.
By Dr. Stephen Alathara