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Diocese of Palayamkottai

Palayamkottaien(sis)

Latin-rite diocese in Tamil Nadu, India, erected 17 May 1973 from the Archdiocese of Madurai, of which it is a suffragan. Its seat is St. Xavier's Cathedral in Palayamkottai, serving about 123,800 Catholics (2004). The see is vacant following the end of Bishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu's tenure in July 2025.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
17 May 1973
Latin
Palayamkottaien(sis)
Patron
Saint Francis Xavier
Annuario code
001002515

The see in figures

Catholics
123,789
Population
2,652,273
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
4.7%
Priests
137
Catholics per priest
904
Extent
6,102 km²
Catholics per km²
20

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Bishop
Antonysamy Savarimuthu
Born
8 December 1960
Birthplace
Vadakku Vandanam

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

St. Xavier's Cathedral, Palayamkottai stands in Palayamkottai, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Madurai

A suffragan of Archdiocese of Madurai.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Located in the city of Palayamkottai in India, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palayamkottai (Latin: Palayamkottaien(sis)) forms part of the ecclesiastical province of Madurai.

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.