Belthangady, India: Fr. James Patteril, a member of the Claretian Congregation, was ordained as the new Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Diocese of Belthangady at a solemn episcopal consecration and installation ceremony held at St. Lawrence Cathedral, Belthangady on 5 November 2025. With his ordination, Bishop Patteril has become the second bishop of the 26-year-old diocese.
The sacred event was presided over by Mar Raphael Thattil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, and attended by Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry, Metropolitan Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Msgr. Andrea Francia, Deputy of the Apostolic Nuncio, and Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, CMF, Superior General of the Claretians, Rome. Several archbishops, bishops, priests, religious, and faithful from across India participated in the grand ceremony.
Bishop Patteril was named the second bishop of the diocese by the Holy See on August 28, 2025. He succeeds Bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy, who had been serving as the first bishop of the Diocese since its erection.
Following the religious service, a public felicitation was organised to honour the newly ordained Bishop James Patteril and the retiring Bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy.
The Diocese of Belthangady, erected on April 24, 1999, by the Papal Bull Cum Ampla of Pope St. John Paul II and inaugurated on August 4, 1999, is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry. Covering a total area of 12,543 sq km, the diocese serves a population of 30,000 faithful (4,750 families).
Languages spoken in the Diocese include Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Malayalam, English, and Kodava. It comprises 55 churches, spread across the three revenue districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, and Kodagu, along with 8 forane and 11 mass centers.
