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CARDINAL OSWALD GRACIAS Archbishop of Bombay |
Cardinal Oswald Gracias was born in Mahim, Mumbai, on December 24, 1944 and he did his school studies at St.
Michael’s, Mahim. He completed his seminary studies at St. Pius College,
Goregaon and was ordained a priest on December 20, 1970. After a short stint as
Chancellor to the Diocese of Jamshedpur and Secretary to its bishop, he returned
to Mumbai. From 1977 to 1981, he was in Rome where he obtained the Doctorate in
Canon Law and a Diploma in Jurisprudence.
He returned to Mumbai where he was first appointed Secretary to the Archbishop of Bombay and Chancellor of the Archdiocese. In 1997, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay. He was ordained a bishop on 16th September 1997 at St. Michael’s, Mahim taking as his motto, “To Reconcile All Things in Christ”. Archbishop Ivan Dias was the chief consecrator. On that occasion, two Cardinals, twenty four Archbishops and Bishops from different parts of the country and over three hundred priests concelebrated at the Eucharist. In the year 2000, he was appointed Archbishop of Agra.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias was secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and currently the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). He is a consulter to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts.
