Vatican appoints new Pune Bishop

The Vatican on Saturday appointed Thomas Dabre, bishop of Vasai, as the new bishop of Pune Catholic diocese.

Dabre (63) will replace Bishop Valerian D'Souza who had resigned on completion of 75 years in October last year.

Dabre earlier served as the secretary general of the Catholic Conference of the Bishops of India and also worked as professor at city-based Jnana Deep Vidyapeeth. He was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Mumbai in 1990.

The Bishop has completed his doctorate on 'The God experience of Tukaram: a study in religious symbolism.'

The outgoing Bishop D'Souza told Sakaaltimes that Pune, the state's cultural capital, deserved Dabre as the new bishop as his mother tongue was Marathi and he was an exponent of inter-religious dialogue and inculturation process within the church.

Established in 1886, the diocese consists of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts and Kolhapur city.