Bangalore, November 9, 2024 (CCBI): Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Fr Ambrose Ptichaimuthu (58) currently the Executive Secretary to the CCBI Commission for Proclamation and the Director of Pontifical Mission Organisations as the Bishop of Vellore in Tamil Nadu. He is an incardinated priest of the diocese of Chingleput. This appointment was made public on November 9, 2024.
Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore formally announced the appointment at the CCBI General Secretariat in Bangalore. During the ceremony, he vested the bishop-designate Ambrose with the traditional symbols of episcopal office: a ring, chain, sash, and skullcap. The auxiliary bishops of Bangalore, Arokiaraj Satis Kumar and Joseph Susainathan, were in attendance, alongside Rev. Dr. Stephen Alathara, Deputy Secretary General of the CCBI; Rev. Dr. Yesu Karunanidhi, Secretary of the Commission for the Bible; Rev. Dr. Merlin Rengith Ambrose, Secretary Commission for Canon Law, Rev. Dr. Cyril Victor, Coordinator, Media Apostolate and Fr. Gangula Vignan Das, Associate Director, Communio. Staff members of the CCBI General Secretariat and the PMO Secretariat were also present to witness the occasion.
Fr. Ambrose was born on May 3, 1966, in Cheyur, Tamil Nadu, and ordained a priest on March 25, 1993. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and a doctorate in philosophy from Angelicum, Rome. He served as the assistant parish priest at San Thome Cathedral, Chennai, and St. Francis Xavier Church, Pallavaram.
He was the parish priest of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Chingelput, Sacred Heart Church, Oragadam, and Sagaya Annai Alayam, Padappi. He was superintendent of R.C. Schools and director of the Jeevan Jothi Institute of Administrative Services (JIAS). He served as Vice Rector, Registrar, Librarian, and Professor at Sacred Heart Seminary, Poonamallee. He was the Vicar General of the diocese of Chingleput for seven years. From 2018 onwards, he was the Director of Pontifical Mission Organizations. In 2022 he was appointed as the Executive Secretary to the CCBI Commission for Proclamation.
The diocese of Vellore became vacant by the death of Bishop Soundaraj Periyanayagam, S.D.B. on 21 March 2020. The diocese was created on November 13, 1952, bifurcating the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore. In 1969, few parishes from the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore were attached to this Diocese. It comprises of two civil districts namely Vellore and Tiruvannamalai. There are 97 parishes having Catholic population of 1, 95,000. It has 167 diocesan priests, 93 religious priests and 890 women religious.
The CCBI family warmly congratulates Fr. Ambrose, our colleague at the CCBI General Secretariat, and offers heartfelt prayers for his continued blessings and success in his episcopal ministry.
By Dr. Stephen Alathara