Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam (Latin: Archdioecesis Metropolitae Visakhapatnamensis) is an archdiocese located in the city of Visakhapatnam in India.

Metropolitan Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam Archidioecesis Metropolitae Visakhapatnamensis విశాఖపట్నం మెట్రోపాలిటన్ ఆర్చ్ డియోసెస్
Location
Country	India
Ecclesiastical province	Visakhapatnam
Statistics
Area	25,950 km2 (10,020 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2010) 12,640,684 247,231 (2%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	St Peter’s Cathedral in Visakhapatnam
Co-cathedral	St Anne’s Co-Cathedral in Visakhapatnam
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Metropolitan Archbishop	Udumala Bala Showreddy[1][2]
Bishops emeritus	Prakash Mallavarapu

History

• 16 March 1845: Established as the Apostolic Pro-Vicariate of Vizagapatam from the Apostolic Vicariate of Madras^[3]
• 3 April 1850: Promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Vizagapatam
• 1 September 1886: Promoted as Diocese of Vizagapatam
• 21 October 1950: Renamed as Diocese of Visakhapatnam
• 16 October 2001: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam

Claretian Missionary Fathers (CMF) entered the diocese in the year 1888. In 1845, Rome entrusted a vast area of Eastern and Central India to the MSFS, who set their headquarters in Visakhapatnam. The first group of MSFS landed on the East coast of India on 8 September 1845. The order of Friars Minor Capuchins. A novitiate was opened in India in 1922 thus planting the order in the Indian soil.

Bishops

Pro-Vicars Apostolic

1. Fr. Jacques Henri Gailhot, (16 March 1845 – 1847)
2. Fr. Theophile Sebastian Neyret, M.S.F.S. (1847–1850); continued as Vicar Apostolic

Vicars Apostolic

1. Bishop Theophile Sebastian Neyret, M.S.F.S. (1850–1862)
2. Bishop Jean Marie Tissot, M.S.F.S. (1862–1886); continued as the first bishop

Bishops of Visakhapatnam (Vizagapatam until 1950)

1. Bishop Jean Marie Tissot, M.S.F.S. (1886–1890)
2. Bishop Jean-Marie Clerc, M.S.F.S. (1891–1926)
3. Bishop Pierre Rossillon, M.S.F.S. (1926–1947)
4. Bishop Joseph-Alphonse Baud, M.S.F.S. (1947–1966)
5. Bishop Ignatius Gopu, M.S.F.S. (1966–1981)
6. Bishop Kagithapu Mariadas, M.S.F.S. (1982–2001); continued as Archbishop

Metropolitan Archbishops of Visakhapatnam

1. Archbishop Kagithapu Mariadas, M.S.F.S. (2001–2012)
2. Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu (2012–2024)^[4]
3. Archbishop Udumala Bala Showreddy (2025-Present)^[5]

Suffragan dioceses

• Eluru
• Guntur
• Nellore
• Srikakulam
• Vijayawada