Diocese of Salem

Bishop Arulselvam Rayappan

Bishop Arulselvam Rayappan

Bishop's House,
P.B. 703, 2 Court Road,
Maravanery, Salem-636007,
Tamil Nadu, India

Phone: 0427 2415641
Fax :0427 2412937
Email: [email protected]

The Holy Father appointed Father Arulselvam Rayappan as bishop of Salem on May 31.

At the time of the appointment, he was professor and director of the Centre for Canon Law Studies at St. Peter's Pontifical Institute, Bangalore.

Bishop Rayappan was born on Nov. 18, 1960, in Sathipattu, under the archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore.

He completed his philosophy studies at Christ Hall Seminary, Madurai (1978-1981); and theology at St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore (1982-1986).

He was ordained a priest on May 20, 1986, for the archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore. He obtained a masters in canon law from St. Peter's Pontifical Institute, Bangalore, (1990-1992) and doctorate in canon law from Pontificia Università Urbaniana, Rome (1992-1994).

Since 1994, he has been teaching canon law at St. Peter's Pontifical Institute, Bangalore.

He was president of the Canon Law Society of Tamil Nadu for two terms and president of the Canon Law Society of India for two terms (2013-2017).