Abp. Antonysamy Appointed Apostolic Administrator of Dindigul

New Delhi, 13 August 2026 (CCBI): The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has appointed Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu of Madurai as the Apostolic Administrator of Dindigul. Bishop Thomas Paulsamy, Bishop of Dindigul, retired on 3 August 2026 at the age of 75.

Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu is currently the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Canon Law. He was appointed Bishop of Palayamkottai on 20 November 2019 and was ordained a bishop on 15 November 2019. He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Madurai on 4 November 2024 and appointed Archbishop of Madurai on 5 July 2025.

He was born on 8 December 1960 in Vadakku Vandanam, in the Diocese of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. He was ordained a priest on 26 April 1987 for the Diocese of Palayamkottai. He served as a resident professor at St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore, from 2011 to 2019. He was elected Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Canon Law and Legislative Texts at the 34th Plenary Assembly of the CCBI, held in Bangalore in 2023.

Bishop Thomas Paulsamy, who served more than ten years (2016-2026) was born on 2 August 1951 at N. Poolampatty in the Diocese of Tiruchirappalli. He was ordained a priest on 25 May 1977 for the Diocese of Tiruchirappalli, which at that time included the territory that later became the Diocese of Dindigul. Before his appointment as bishop, he served as Vicar General of the Diocese of Tiruchirappalli. He was appointed Bishop of Dindigul on 11 April 2016 and was ordained a bishop on 22 May 2016. He served the Diocese of Dindigul for more than ten years.

By Dr Stephen Alathara