Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore

Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore Archidioecesis Pondicheriensis et Cuddalorensis புதுவை கடலூர் உயர் மறைமாவட்டம்
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, The Mother Church of the Archdiocese
Location
Country	India
Ecclesiastical province	Pondicherry and Cuddalore
Statistics
Area	11,348 km2 (4,381 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 11,32,398 3,79,984
Parishes	101
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	1776
Cathedral	Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
Patron saint	Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Secular priests	256
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Antony Anandarayar
Vicar General	A. Arulanandam
Emeritus Bishops	Rev. Msgr. Michael Augustine
Map
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore Latin: Pondicherien(sis) et Cuddaloren(sis) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India.

With a land area of 11,348 square kilometers, the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore extends over the Pondicherry and Karaikal civil districts of Puducherry union territory and the civil districts of Cuddalore and Viluppuram of Tamil Nadu state. In 2001, the total population of the area was 6,151,891. Ethnic groups in the territory include the Tamils and French.

The great ancestor of this Archdiocese is the Carnatic Mission, which was started around the year 1700 as Mission sui iuris. This Carnatic Mission was known as Missions of the Coromandel Coast and also as the Malabar Mission.

Before the establishment of the Carnatic Mission in 1700, the Jesuit Fathers of the Madurai Mission, especially John de Britto, entered the Gingee kingdom after 1660, and preached the Gospel up to the Palar River, south of Madras. Members of various religious orders, looked after the spiritual needs of the European communities in their trading centres along the coastal areas, including Cuddalore and Porto Novo. The French Capuchins first settled in Pondicherry in 1674 and the French Jesuits, expelled from Siam also took refuge in Pondicherry in 1688. But, in 1693, the Dutch chased away all the religious groups from Pondicherry, and they were only able to return in 1699. While the Capuchins were looking after the Europeans in Pondicherry, the French Jesuits organized the Carnatic Mission for the Indian people.