Kozhikode:
Dr Varghese Chakkalakkal, presently the Bishop of Kannur Diocese, has been appointed as the Bishop of Calicut Diocese by Pope Benedict XVI.
The declaration was made in Rome, Bishops Houses in Kozhikode and Kannur on Tuesday evening.
He will be the sixth bishop of Diocese of Calicut succeeding Dr Joseph Kalathiparambil, who was transferred to Rome to be the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the migrants and Itinerant people, church sources said.
The Diocese of Calicut, the 25th diocese of India was erected by Pope Pius XI on June 12, 1923.
It is the mother of all the dioceses in Malabar area like Thalassery diocese, Thamarassery diocese, Mananthavadi diocese and Kannur diocese.
Dr Chakkalakkal had received doctorate in Canon law from Bensor University in Rome.
He is the Present Secretary General of CCBI (Conference of Catholic Bishops in India), sources said.