William Leonard D'Mello

William Leonard D'Mello (24 March 1931 – 19 July 2011) was the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Karwar, India.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend William Leonard D'Mello
Bishop of Karwar
Archdiocese	Bangalore
Diocese	Karwar
Appointed	24 January 1976
Term ended	24 February 2007
Predecessor	Inaugural
Successor	Derek Fernandes
Orders
Ordination	16 April 1957
Consecration	29 April 1977 by Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy
Personal details
Born	William Leonard D'Mello 24 March 1931 Mangalore
Died	19 July 2011 Mangalore
Buried	Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady, Kajubag
Nationality	Indian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Karwar, Karnataka
Motto	Duc in Altum

Born in Mangalore and ordained to the priesthood in 1957, D'Mello was named bishop of the Karwar Diocese in 1976 and retired in 2007.^[1]

Early life

D'Mello was born on 24 March 1931, at Cascia, the third of six children born to Joseph and Santana D'Mello.^[2]

Bishop of Karwar

On 24 January 1976, at 44 years of age, D'Mello was appointed Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Karwar by Pope Paul VI. His episcopal consecration took place only on 29 April 1977. Archbishop Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy served as Consecrator, assisted by Archbishop Packiam Arokiaswamy and Bishop Ignatius P. Lobo.^[2]

One of D'Mello's key initiatives was promoting vocations to the priesthood and the religious life in his diocese. He encouraged young men to enter the seminary, and sought to bring more congregations of religious sisters into his new diocese.

Retirement

D'Mello submitted his resignation upon reaching the age of 75 as required by the 1983 Code of Canon Law and in February 2007, Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation and appointed Derek Fernandes as his successor.

In retirement, he lived at the 'Sandhya Vandan'. D'Mello died 19 July 2011, aged 80 and was buried in the Diocese of Karwar's Cathedral of the Assumption.^[2]