Pope Francis on May 13 appointed a missionary priest from India as the bishop of Aitape, a diocese in Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania.
Bishop-elect Siby Mathew Peedikayil is a member of the Heralds of Good News, an India-based congregation. The 50-year-old priest is the current vicar general of the diocese of Vanimo. He was born on December 6, 1970, to Mathew Varkey and Annakutty Peedikayil, a Catholic family in Meloram near Peruvanthanam in the Idukki district of Kerala. He was ordained priest on February 1, 1995.

Bandel Basilica Inspires Religious Harmony Across Faiths
The Basilica of the Holy Rosary, popularly known as Bandel Church in West Bengal, continues to attract thousands of pilgrims from different faiths, standing as


