Bernard Blasius Moras (born 10 August 1941) is an Indian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Bangalore. He also currently serves as a temporary

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Diocese of Mysore.

Early life

Born in

Kuppepadavu {{Infobox settlement , name = Kuppepadavu , native_name = , native_name_lang = , other_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = Nej ...

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

Priesthood

Moras was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

to the priesthood on 6 December 1967. During his priestly ministry, he was very involved with

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health ...

Episcopate

On 30 November 1996, Moras was appointed

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He was consecrated on 25 February 1997 by Cardinal

Simon Pimenta Simon Ignatius Pimenta (1 March 1920 – 19 July 2013) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay (now Mumbai). Early life Born on 1 March 1920 in the village of Marol, in Bombay to Joseph and Rosie Pimenta, the young ...

, with Bishops Aloysius D'Souza and

Ignatius Pinto Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Ignatius of Constantinople (797–877), Cath ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

. Moras chose as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mo ...

: "In Thee We Hope–

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

Our Mother." Moras was later named

Archbishop of Bangalore In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

on 22 July 2004, being installed on 17 September. The installation was attended by three

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, th ...

and by all the priests of Bangalore diocese.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

bestowed the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropoli ...

, a

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

en garment reserved to metropolitan archbishops, upon Moras on 29 June 2005. Moras condemned

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels '' Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), '' The Lost Symbol'' (2009), '' Inferno'' (2013), ...

's novel ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Langdon ...

'' as "vicious" and "diabolic".Catholic Online
Catholic bishops, groups warn of ‘Da Vinci Code’ assault on beliefs, see it as teaching moment
17 May 2006 He called all Christians to boycott the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

, which he requested of the Indian film board to be banned from the country. Moras also chairs the Pastoral Commission for Health of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the Catholic bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Bangalore until 1962, when it was shifted to t ...

and is the Ecclesiastical Advisor to the

Catholic Health Association of India The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Moras takes part in the documentary ''

The Indian Priest ''The Indian Priest'' is a 2016 Swedish-Indian documentary film about a Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (C.M.I.) Catholic priest from south India, Father Raphael Kurian, who is sent to modern and secular Sweden as a missionary on the request from ...

'' about Indian missionary priest Raphael Curian from 2015. Following the suspension of Bishop

Kannikadass William Antony Kannikadass William Antony (born 27 February 1965) is an Indian Roman Catholic prelate, who is currently bishop emeritus of Mysore. Early life Msgr. Antony was born on 27 February 1965 in Pollibetta, Mysore. He was the only son of M. G. An ...

, Moras was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mysore on 7 January 2023 by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

References

External links

Catholic-HierarchyArchdiocese of BangaloreInterview with AsiaNews
1941 births Living people Christian clergy from Mangalore Roman Catholic archbishops of Bangalore 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India {{India-RC-archbishop-stub