Diocese of Ahmedabad

Bishop Athanasius Rethna Swamy

Bishop Athanasius Rethna Swamy

Bishop's House,
Dr. Tankaria Rd., Mirzapur,
Ahmadabad-380001,
Gujarat, India

Phone: 079-25624717, 25624105
Email: [email protected]

Bishop Athanasius was born on Feb. 10, 1961, at Parampukkarai in Kottar diocese, Tamil Nadu. After primary school, he joined the “Mission Home” at Nagercoil. In 1977, he entered the Minor Seminary in Madurai. Two years later, he joined St Charles Seminary, Nagpur, for philosophical and theological studies.

He was ordained priest on March 29, 1989, for Ahmedabad diocese. He began his priestly work as assistant priest at Sananad, a post he held for two years. He was then made the rector of St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Ahmedabad. He was the principal of St. Xavier’s High School, Chavdapura, for two years from 1993.

In 1994, he went to Rome to study Bachelor of Education and Licentiate in Clinical Psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. On his return in 1998, he was appointed rector of Shradha Inter-diocesan Seminary, Ahmedabad, for four years. He was the rector of St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Ahmedabad, and Spiritual Director at Gujarat Vidya Deep Seminary, Baroda, for ten years from 2002.