Bishops consecrated by Telesphore Toppo as principal consecrator
Stephen M. Tiru
7 October 1986
Charles Soreng, S.J.
9 February 1990
Michael Minj, S.J.
22 August 1993
Joseph Minj
24 August 1993
Thomas Kozhimala
7 October 1996
Felix Toppo, S.J.
27 September 1997
Julius Marandi
7 October 1997
Gabriel Kujur, S.J.
8 January 1998
Vincent Barwa
8 November 1998
Victor Henry Thakur
11 November 1998
Paul Alois Lakra
5 April 2006
John Barwa, S.V.D.
19 April 2006
Clement Tirkey
23 April 2006
Paul Toppo
24 May 2006
Kurien Valiakandathil
27 February 2007
Angelus Kujur, S.J.
18 April 2007
Binay Kandulna
30 November 2012
Emmanuel Kerketta
2 February 2010
Jojo Anand
8 December 2012
Kishore Kumar Kujur
29 September 2013
Telesphore Bilung, S.V.D.
30 August 2014
Theodore Mascarenhas, S.F.X.
30 August 2014
Cajetan Francis Osta
22 October 2014
Vincent Aind
14 June 2015
Telesphore Placidus Toppo (15 October 1939 – 4 October 2023) was an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church and a member of the aboriginal tribal community who was archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ranchi from 1985 to 2018, after serving as coadjutor there for a year. He was bishop of Dumka from 1978 to 1984. He was made a cardinal in 2003, the first from India's tribal population.
A polyglot, Toppo spoke Sadri, Oraon (mother tongues), Hindi (official language), English and Italian.[1]
Biography
Telesphore Placidus Toppo was born in Chainpur, in the state of Bihar and now in Jharkhand, India, on 15 October 1939, the eighth of ten children.[1] He and his family belonged to Adivasi (indigenous tribal) community.[2]
After a stint at Torpa (Jharkhand), as Headmaster of St Joseph's School and Director of the Lievens Vocational Center, Toppo was named Bishop of Dumka and received his episcopal consecration on 7 October 1978 from Archbishop Pius Kerketta SJ. He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Ranchi, capital of the Jharkhand state, on 8 November 1984. He became Archbishop there on 7 August 1985.
At the Synod of Bishops in 2008, he endorsed ecumenical efforts but warned against "dilution of the Truth" and called for agreement on a common date for the celebration of Easter.[8] At the Synod on the New Evangelization in 2012, he called on religious orders to commit themselves anew to missionary work.[9]
On 11 February 2008, he called for the proclamation of a new Marian dogma on Mary, Mediatrix of graces, Co-Redemptrix of humanity, with Jesus as sole and unique mediator.[11][12]
