Bishop Lumen Monteiro Completes 45 Years of Service as Priest and Missionary in Northeast India

The Diocese of Agartala and the Church in India celebrate the 45th anniversary of the sacerdotal ordination of Bishop Lumen Monteiro, C.S.C., D.D., who was ordained a priest on October 28, 1980, and has since emerged as one of the most respected pastoral and missionary leaders in Northeast India, serving the Church not only in Tripura but also through major national ecclesial commissions.  A priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Bishop Monteiro became the first Bishop of Agartala when Pope St. John Paul II erected the diocese on January 11, 1996, and later consecrated him as its shepherd on May 26, 1996. With the episcopal motto “Duc in Altum — Lead Us Onward,” he undertook the formidable task of building the local Church in Tripura from the ground up during a time of social unrest and limited resources.