New Archbishop of Ranchi Archdiocese Vicente Ayand took oath, installation ceremony took place at Loyola grounds.

Ranchi: The investiture (swearing in) ceremony of the new Archbishop Vicente Ayand of the Catholic Church Ranchi Archdiocese was held on Tuesday at the Loyola Ground on Purulia Road, Ranchi. On this occasion, he took oath as the seventh Archbishop of Ranchi Archdiocese. Pope Francis’ Ambassador to India and Nepal, Nuncio Leopoldo Zarelli, was the chief guest at the event.

Pope Francis’ decree read out
Father Anand David, priest of St. Mary’s Basilica, read out the decree of Pope Francis. In this order letter, the Pope had announced the appointment of Vicente Iand as the Archbishop of Ranchi. This letter was shown to the believers. After this, the newly appointed Archbishop Vicente Ayand was seated on his special chair ‘cathedra’. Also, outgoing Archbishop Felix Toppo handed over his ‘Meshpaliya Danda’ (rod) to Archbishop Vicente Ayand. The archbishop is the shepherd of his diocese, looking after and protecting his flock of sheep (the faithful). Today the chair on which he was made to sit and the stick handed over to him indicates his privileges. In the second phase of the liturgy, Archbishop Vicente Ayand celebrated Mass for the first time in front of the faithful. On this occasion, he said in his sermon that on the occasion of the feast of Saint Joseph, I have got the great responsibility of Archbishop.

28 bishops attended
28 bishops attended the ceremony. These included Bishop Anil of Delhi, Bishop Thomas D’Souza of Kolkata, Bishop Sebastian of Patna, Bishop Theodore Maskrehans of Daltonganj and other bishops. Also included were Father Ajit Khes, Provincial of the Society of Jesus, Mother Sister Lily Grace Topno of the Saint Anna Religious Society, Sister Eva Justina Romolda, Provincial of the Ursuline Convent.