By Team ICM –
Rome / New Delhi: His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed new bishops for India. Fr. Fulgence Aloysius Tigga, has been appointed as new Bishop of Raiganj of Uttar Dinajpur district in the state of West Bengal, while Fr. Dennis Panipitchai, SDB, was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Miao. Miao is a sub-division in Changlang district of state of Arunachal Pradesh in the North-East region of India.
These ecclesiastical provisions was made public in Rome on Friday.
Rev. Fr. Fulgence Aloysius Tigga was born on 3rd March, 1965 at Katkathi village in the Diocese of Gumla. He attended the Minor Seminary at Muzaffarpur, the Philosophy at Vishwa Jyoti Gurukul, Varanasi, and Theology at Bhopal Regional Seminary. He was ordained Priest on 3rd May, 1997 for the Diocese of Muzaffarpur. At the bifurcation of the Diocese in 1998, he opted for the Diocese of Bettiah.
Fr. Fulgence Aloysius Tigga held the following Ministries and Offices: 1997-2000: Assistant Priest at Chuhari, 2000-2004: Parish Priest at Chanpatia, 2004-2009: Parish Priest at Dussaiya and Rector of St. Peter’s Minor Seminary, 2009-2015: Parish Priest at Chakhni, since 2015, Parish Priest at Ramnagar, since 2017, Vicar General of Bettiah. He is also Dean of West Champaran, Member of the Priests Council, Diocesan Consultor, In-charge of Liturgy and Vocation Commission and Vocation promoter.
Fr. Dennis Panipitchai, SDB, was born in Colachel, in the Diocese of Kottar (Tamil Nadu), on 27th July, 1958. After attending St. Mary’s Parish School in Colachel, in 1976 he entered the pre-novitiate of the Salesians in Shillong, and there he did his novitiate in 1979. On 24th May, 1980, he made his first profession as a simple brother. Later he felt the call to priesthood and did his philosophy formation at Divyadaan Salesian Institute of Philosophy, Nashik. He continued with theology at Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong. He obtained a Master’s degree in Theology and in a civil subject.
After making his solemn profession, on the same day he was ordained Priest, on 27th December, 1991. He served in the following ministries: Dean of Studies, Salesian pre-novitiate, Rua Home, Jorhat, Dibrugarh (1992-1995); Administrator of Don Bosco Bible School, Tinsukia, Diocese of Dibrugarh (1995-1997); In-charge of Don Bosco School, Borduria, now in the Diocese of Miao (1998-2000); Principal of Don Bosco School, Miao and Assistant Priest in the same Parish, Archdiocese of Imphal (2001-2004); Parish Priest at Mary Help of Christians Church, Borduria, now in the Diocese of Miao (2004-2009); Principal of Don Bosco School, Kohima (2009-2015). Since 2015 he is Parish Priest of Mary Immaculate Parish, Chingmeirong, in the Archdiocese of Imphal. Since 2012 he is also Provincial Counsellor.
Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, Secretary General, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India greeted them and welcomed them to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and assured them of its prayers.