Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed Divine Word Father Telesphore Bilung, aged 53, as the auxiliary bishop of Ranchi archdiocese.

Fr. Bilung, currently the Divine Word Society’s Odisha provincial, was born at Sargidipa, a mission station under Gaibira parish of the Rourkela diocese as the second of eight children. His parents are no more. He joined the Divine Word Society seminary in 1979 and took the first vows seven years later. He was ordained a priest in 1992, a year after he became a full-fledged member of the congregation with final vows.

A graduate in English literature, the bishop-elect had undergone formation training at the Institute of St Anselam, Kent, near London.

He was appointed the provincial in 2011 for a term of three years. He was reelected for another term early this year.

The archdiocese is now headed by Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, who would turn 75 on October 15 this year, the canonical year for retirement.

The archdiocese now has some 130,000 Catholics in a population of 2.8 million. It has 32 parishes and 3 centers that are served by more than 60 diocesan and 185 Religious priests, 90 Brothers and some 1,000 nuns.