The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajmer () is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

Latin

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

in northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, yet still depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

episcopal see is Cathedral of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, in

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

state.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 9,980 Catholics (0.0% of 22,073,000 total) on 146,690 km² in 10 parishes and 25 missions with 60 priests (40 diocesan, 20 religious), 479 lay religious (27 brothers, 452 sisters) and 18 seminarians.

History

* Established in 1890 as mission of

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

, on colonial territory split off from its metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Agra * Promoted in 1891 as ''

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Rajputana''. At this date the district had only one mission station,

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

. Besides this, a Catholic priest resided at Ajmer in charge of a small community of Eurasians and

Goans Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

, and there were also stations for troops at Nasirabad,

Neemuch Neemuch or Nimach is a city in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. The town shares its northwestern border with the state of Rajasthan and is the administrative headquarters of Neemuch District. Formerly a large British people, British cantonm ...

, and Mhow, served by three military chaplains. After the arrival of French Capuchins, other stations were established at

Ratlam Ratlam is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam district, which was created in 1947 after the independe ...

, Thandla, Mariapur, Jhabua, Jhalrapatan, Parbatpura, and Bhawanikhera. The prefects were Bertram, 1892–1902, and Henry Fortunatus Caumont, from 1903. * 22 May 1913: Promoted as ''Diocese of Ajmer'' * Lost territory on 1935.03.11 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Indore * Renamed on 13 May 1955 as ''Diocese of Ajmer–Jaipur'' * Lost territories repeatedly: on 1963.09.13 to establish the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bhopal, on 1973.04.03 to the Apostolic Exarchate of Sagar and on 1984.12.03 to establish the Diocese of Udaipur * Renamed on 20 July 2005 as Diocese of Ajmer The Diocese of Ajmer-Jaipur comprised twenty four districts, namely

, Alwar, Baran, Barmer,

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

, Bundi, Churu,

Dausa Dausa is a city and administrative headquarters of Dausa district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is 55 km from Jaipur, 240 km from Delhi and located on Jaipur-Agra National Highway (NH-21). Etymology The name ''Dausa'' (Hindi ...

, Hanumangarh,

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

Jalore Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as Granite City, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore District. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of Sukri ...

, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu,

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

Karauli Karauli (also formerly spelled Karoli or Karaulee) is a city located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located in the Braj region and holds religious importance in Hinduism. The city is the administrative center of Karauli District, a ...

, Kota, Nagaur,

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Sirohi, Sri Ganganagar and Tonk in the state of

. In July, 1890 the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

detached a very large portion of the Archdiocese of Agra to form a new unit, the Rajasthan mission entrusting it to the Capuchin Fathers of the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Province who were to work under the supervision of the

Archbishop 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 archdi ...

. In December, 1891, the new mission became the

Prefecture Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Rajputana and in 1913, Caumont was appointed the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. On 11 March 1935, parts of the

which were in the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

were detached to become part of the newly erected

of Indore.

Ordinaries

( Latin Rite) ;''Ecclesiastical Superior?s of Rajputana'' : no data available ;''Apostolic Vicar?s of Rajputana'' : no data available ;''Suffragan Bishops of Ajmer'' * Fortunat-Henri Caumont, OFMCap (born France) (22 May 1913 – death 4 April 1930) * Mathurin-Pie Le Ruyet, OFMCap (born France) (8 June 1931 – retired 4 July 1938), emeritate as Titular Bishop of

Alexandria minor Alexandria ( ; ) is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile River delta. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major ce ...

(1938.07.04 – 1961.06.09) * Guy-Léandre Le Floch, OFMCap (born France) (13 June 1939 – death 9 August 1946) * D’Mello (first born India) (21 April 1949 – 13 May 1955 ''see below'') ;''Suffragan Bishop of Ajmer-Jaipur'' * D’Mello (''see above'' 13 May 1955 – retired 15 November 1978), died 1987 ;''Suffragan Bishops of Ajmer'' * Ignatius Menezes (born India) (15 November 1978 – retired 3 November 2012), later

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 Diocese of Allahabad (India) (2013.01.31 – 2013.10.17) *

Pius Thomas D'Souza Bishop Pius Thomas D'Souza is bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajmer, India. He resigned on 1 June 2024. Early life and education Pius Thomas D'Souza was born in Agrar, Mangalore, India on 4 May 1954. He completed his doctor ...

(born India) (3 November 2012 – 1 June 2024), no previous prelature * John Carvalho (1 March 2025 - Present)

Causes for canonisation

* Fortunat-Henri Caumont, OFMCap, first prelate of the diocese of Ajmer

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google satellite photo - data for all sections

Catholic Hierarchy
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Attribution

; the entry cites: *Madras Catholic Directory, 1910; *FORTUNAT, ''Au Pays des Rajas'' (Paris, 1906). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajmer, Roman Catholic diocese

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Roman Catholic dioceses in India

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century