Roman Catholic Diocese of Poona

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pune (Latin: Poonen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Pune in the Ecclesiastical province of Mumbai in India.

Diocese of Poona Dioecesis Poonensis पुणे धर्मप्रांत
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Poona
Location
Country	India
Metropolitan	Bombay
Statistics
Area	49,687 km2 (19,184 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2005) 24,305,883 64,234 (0.3%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	John Rodrigues
Metropolitan Archbishop	Oswald Gracias
Website
Website of the Diocese

The Poona Diocese consists of the civil districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli & Kolhapur city. In about 1790 the Archbishop of Goa at the request of Dom Manuel Noronha, a Portuguese officer working in the Peshwa's army, sent Fr. Vincent Joaquim Menezes to minister to the Catholics working in the army of Peshwas.

Fr.Menezes resided and said Mass in the house of Dom Noronha. In 1794, with the contribution of the Catholics in the army, a small chapel was built at Nana Peth on a plot offered by the Peshwa. The first Mass was celebrated in this chapel on Christmas Day. These were the beginning of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the City Church.

Around 1800 the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay started sending his priests to minister to the Catholics in the Scindia's army but he stopped this about 1804. In 1835 Fr. Britto, a Goan priest working under the Vicar Apostolic acted as Military Chaplain in a chapel built at Right Flank Lines, Wanwadi. In 1850, St. Patrick's Church, the present cathedral, was built.

Poona was erected into a Vicariate Apostolic by dismemberment from Bombay on March 8, 1854, and entrusted to the society of Jesus. The Vicar Apostolic of Bombay remained Administrator till the Hierarchy was established in 1886. Rt.Rev.Bernard Bieder-Linden SJ was appointed its first bishop.

On October 20, 1953, the Catholics of Ratnagiri District and those of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pune, who formerly belonged to the Archdiocese of Goa, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Poona. On November 30, 1953, the districts of Dharwar and Bijapur, formerly in the Poona Diocese were attached to the newly constituted Diocese of Belgaum.

On June 9, 1987, the Diocese of Nashik was created, comprising four districts - Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahmednagar - of the Poona Diocese. Jesuit Thomas Bhalerao became its first bishop. St.Patrick's Cathedral was rededicated on October 22, 1987. The roof of the old Cathedral collapsed shortly before midnight on July 15, 1984. The outer walls and facade have been retained, but there is now a vault roof of concrete.

The Eparchy of Kalyan, which is contiguous with the Archdiocese of Bombay and the Dioceses of Poona and Nashik, was created on May 19, 1988. On August 24, 1988, Paul Chittilapilly was ordained Eparch of Kalyan, and the new diocese was formally inaugurated. All Catholics of the Syro-Malabar rite in the diocese came under his jurisdiction.

The First Diocesan Synod was held at Ishvani Kendra, Pune, from 11 to 14 February 2003. 144 delegates from all the 7 districts attended.