Bangalore 2 November 2021 (CCBI): His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Most Rev. Thomas Ignatius Macwan (69) Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, as one of the members of International Council for Catechesis (COINCAT) for a period of five years. Currently he is the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Catechetics.
The International Council for Catechesis (COINCAT) was established by St. Pope Paul VI in 1973 as a consultative advisory body. The council studies and proposes pastoral initiatives on catechetical issues, opportunities and challenges facing bishops, pastors and lay catechetical leaders and catechists around the world. Currently it is under the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization.
Archbishop Macwan was born 14 October 1952 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. He was a bank manager and later joined the seminary to become a priest. He was ordained a priest at the age of 36 for the diocese of Ahmedabad on 9 April 1988. He was appointed Bishop of Ahmedabad on 11 November, 2002 and was ordained Bishop on 11 January, 2003.
Pope Francis has appointed him as the second Archbishop of Gandhinagar on 12 June 2015 and installed as Archbishop on 12 September, 2015. The 27 Plenary Assembly of the CCBI held in 2015 at Bangalore elected Archbishop Macwan as the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Catechetics and again re-elected in 31 Plenary Assembly held in 2019 at Chennai. He is a priest for 33 years and a bishop for 18 years.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Alathara
Deputy Secretary General, CCBI