Goa archbishop named new head of national body

Panaji: Archbishop of Goa and Daman Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao has been elected as the new president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).

He was elected by the 31st plenary assembly of the National Episcopal Conference of India being held at the Joe Animation Centre at Mahabalipuram in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The meet is still in session and Ferrao is expected to return to Goa on Monday.

Ferrao, 65, will take over from archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who served as president for three terms of two years each, from 2013 to 2019.

Meanwhile, archbishop of Chennai-Mylapore Fr George Antonysamy and Delhi archbishop Fr Anil Joseph Thomas Couto have been re-elected as vice-president and secretary general respectively of the body.

Ferrao has earlier served as the CCBI’s vice-president, from 2011 to 2017.

Appointed as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Goa and Daman at the age of 40, on December 20, 1993, Ferrao was installed as archbishop on March 21, 2004.

He is presently the chairman of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) Office of Education and Faith Formation.


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