Holy See–India relations

Contents

Holy See–India relations are the bilateral relations between the India and Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City. Formal bilateral relations between the two exist since 12 June 1948. An Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies existed from 1881. The Holy See has an nunciature in New Delhi while India has accredited its embassy in Vienna, Austria to the Holy See as well. Shambhu S. Kumaran, India's ambassador to Austria has been the ambassador to the Holy See since 2024, while Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli has been the Apostolic Nuncio to India since 2021.

History

Connections between the Catholic church and India can be traced back to the apostle St. Thomas, who, according to tradition, came to India in 52 AD.[1][2][3] There is a record of an Indian bishop visiting Rome at the time of Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124).[4]

The diplomatic mission was established as the Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies in 1881 based in Ceylon, and was extended to Malaca in 1889, and then to Burma in 1920, and eventually included Goa in 1923. It was raised to an Internunciature to all of India by Pope Pius XII on 12 June 1948 and to a full Apostolic Nunciature by Pope Paul VI on 22 August 1967. India initially had a legation to the Holy See, with the Minister at Berne accredited as Minister to the Holy See.[5] The Indian mission was raised to the status of an embassy led by an ambassador in 1965.[6] India's Ambassador in Bern had traditionally been accredited to the Holy See until 2020, since when the Ambassador in Vienna has been assigned the role.

Bilateral visits

There have been three Papal visits to India. The first Pope to visit India was Pope Paul VI, who visited Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress. Pope John Paul II visited several places in India including Chennai in February 1986[7] and then again visited New Delhi in November 1999.[8] Several Indian dignitaries have, from time to time, called on the Pope in the Vatican. These include Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955,[9] Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1981, Prime Minister I.K. Gujral in September 1997, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021.[10]

Dignitaries at events

Vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat represented the country at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj led a delegation to the Vatican for the canonisation function of Saint Teresa of Calcutta in September 2016, when she also called on Pope Francis. She was accompanied by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. President Droupadi Murmu, union ministers Kiren Rijiju and George Kurian, and deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Goa Joshua De Souza represented India at the funeral of Pope Francis.[11][12][13] Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh and deputy chief minister of Nagaland Yanthungo Patton represented India at the inauguration of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.[14]

Indian ambassadors to the Holy See

FromTillNameDesignation
19491951Dhirajlal Bhulabhai DesaiMinister
19511952Nedyan RaghavenMinister
19521953Asaf AliMinister
19531954Yezdezard Dinshaw GundeviaMinister
19541955Abid Hasan SafraniChargé d'affaires
19551958Mohan Sinha MehtaMinister
19581961M. K. VellodiMinister
19621964Mohamed Abdul RaufMinister
19641965Vishnuprasad Chunilal TrivediMinister
19651967Vishnuprasad Chunilal TrivediAmbassador
19681970Mohamed Azim HusainAmbassador
19711974Arjan SinghAmbassador
19741977Avtar SinghAmbassador
19771978Uma Shankar BajpaiAmbassador
19781979Amba PrasadChargé d'affaires
19791981Gurbachan SinghAmbassador
19811982Narendra SinghAmbassador
19821985Thomas AbrahamAmbassador
19851986Om Parkash AggarwalChargé d'affaires
19861990Ashoke Sen ChibAmbassador
19901994Madhaw Keshav MangalmurtiAmbassador
19942000Kizhakke Pisharath BalakrishnanAmbassador
20002002Niranjan Natverlal DesaiAmbassador
20022005Praveen Lal GoyalAmbassador
20052006Snehi Desh BandhuChargé d'affaires
20062008Amitava TripathiAmbassador
20082009Ajaneesh KumarChargé d'affaires
20092013Chitra NarayananAmbassador
20132014Nagendra PrasadChargé d'affaires
20142015Mysore Kapanaiah LokeshAmbassador
20152017Smitha PurushottamAmbassador
20172020Sibi GeorgeAmbassador
20202024Jaideep MazumdarAmbassador
2024presentShambhu S. KumaranAmbassador

Reference: [15]

References

  1. 1.A. E. Medlycott, (1905) "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN 1-59333-180-0.
  2. 2.The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing – 2008. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
  3. 3.Leslie W. Brown (1956). The Indian Christians of St Thomas, an Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. University Press.
  4. 4.Robert Silverberg, The Realm of Prester John, pp. 29–34.
  5. 5."Report of the Ministry of External Affairs 1948-49". Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. 6."To the first Ambassador of India to the Holy See (March 25, 1965) | Paul VI". vatican.va.
  7. 7."Apostolic Nunciature, India & Nepal".
  8. 8."Pastoral Visit of His Holiness John Paul II to New Delhi". Vatican.va. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  9. 9."Pope Tells Nehru of Duty To Seek True World Peace". The Catholic Northwest Progress. Vol. 58, no. 28. 15 July 1955. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. 10.Tribune News Service. "PM Modi meets Pope Francis at Vatican, invites him to visit India". Tribuneindia News Service. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  11. 11."President Murmu, Kiren Rijiju Leaves For Vatican To Attend Pope's Funeral". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  12. 12."President Murmu attends funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City". The News Minute. 27 April 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  13. 13."President Droupadi Murmu pays homage to Pope Francis at Vatican, to attend funeral". Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  14. 14.Service, Statesman News (18 May 2025). "RS Dy Chairman-led Indian delegation takes part in Pope Leo XIV's solemn ceremony". The Statesman. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  15. 15."DAS BEIM HL. STUHL AKKREDITIERTE DIPLOMATISCHE KORPS – Die Apostolische Nachfolge" (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2021.