Pope Francis on Saturday appointed Fr. Joseph Raja Rao Thelegathoti, S.M.M., as bishop of Vijayawada, India.
He was born in Peddautapally, India, in 1952, gave his religious vows in 1980 and was ordained a priest in the same year. He holds a licentiate in biblical theology from the Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram in Bangalore, India, and a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.
He has served in a number of roles, including rector of the minor seminary and of the Montfort Theologate in Bangalore, provincial counsellor, provincial superior, deputy president of the Conference of Religious of India, director of the Anugraha Institute for Poor Girls, director of the Montfort Marian Centre, Bangalore, and procurator general and postulator of the Congregation of Montfort Fathers in Rome. He is currently provincial of his congregation in Rome.
The Diocese of Vijayawada has some 280,000 Catholics in a population of close to six million. They are served by around 230 priests and just some 1,000 religious.
