The Diocese of Jalandhar (this name Jullundur is now officially changed to Jalandhar) is one among the current one hundred and forty eight Dioceses in India. It is situated in the North West of India, and its area comprises the civil districts of Amritsar, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Moga, Muktsar, Nawanshahar, Tarn Taran and Anandapur Sahib Tehsil of Ropar District in the State of Punjab and and Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra and Una in Himachal Pradesh. The estimated area of the Diocese is 51120 Sq. Kms.
Until the Partition of 1947, this area was part of the Diocese of Lahore, looked after by the Capuchin missionaries of the Belgian Province. On January 17, 1952 the Apostolic Prefecture of Jullundur was created by the Apostolic Constitution “Inter Ceteras Curas” of Pope Pius XII. It was entrusted to the British Province of the Capuchins, and Msgr. Francis Alban Swarbrick OFM Cap., was made the Prefect.
Pope Paul VI raised the Prefecture of Jullundur to the status of Diocese on December 6, 1971, by the Apostolic Bull, “Ad Perpetuam Rei Memoriam”, and Rt. Rev. Symphorian Keeprath OFM Cap., was appointed its first Bishop.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bp. Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, the Auxiliary Bishop of Delhi as the new Bishop of Jullundur on February 24, 2007. Bp. Anil was installed as the Bishop of Jullundur on April 15, 2007. He was transferred to Delhi as Archbishop on November 310, 2012 and continued as Apostolic Administrator till the appointment of Rt. Rev. Dr. Franco Mulakkal as the Bishop of Jalandhar on June 13, 2013 by Pope Francis. His installation took place on August 4, 2013 at the Trinity College Grounds, Jalandhar.
On his request Bp. Franco was relieved from the Administration and Bp. Angelo Rufino Gracias, the Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay was appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Jalandhar, sede plena with immediate on September 20, 2018. He took the charge as the Apostolic Administrator on October 8, 2018.
The majority of the people speak Punjabi which is their mother tongue. Most of them understand Hindi, the national language of India. The other languages spoken are Pahari, Urdu, Rajasthani, Tibetan and tribal dialects. Being a prosperous state, Punjab attracts plenty of migrant labour from the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa. Although for about fifteen years (1983-1995) there was a decrease in the flow of workers from these states due to the insecure conditions in Punjab, after the restoration of peace in 1993 there is steady increase in the number of migrant labourers visiting this state. These workers do not take up permanent residence in Punjab.
