The first Catholic missionaries came to the Nepal region in the 17th century
and from 1715 onwards they were allowed to preach Catholicism in the Newar
Kingdoms of Bhatgaon and Kathmandu. (1)
After the Gurkha conquest of 1768 they were however gradually expelled and by
1789 all Catholic activities in the region ceased for nearly 160 years.
But despite this the Kingdom formally continued to be considered part of one
of the neighbouring Indian jurisdictions :
- 1784 - 1808 : the Apostolic Prefecture of Tibet-Hindustan
- 1808 - 1845 : the Apostolic Vicariate of Agra (successor to Tibet-Hindustan)
- 1845 - 1886 : the Apostolic Vicariate of Patna (detached from Agra)
- 1886 - 1893 : the Diocese of Allahabad (successor to Patna and a suffragan
of Agra)
- 1893 - 1919 : the Apostolic Prefecture of Bettiah (detached from Allahabad
in 1892)
- 1919 - 1983 : the Diocese of Patna (created out of the merger of Bettiah
and part of Allahabad and a suffragan of Agra)
(1) Kathmandu was first visited in 1628, while the remote Kingdom of
Mustang was apparently reached in 1756.
Vicars Apostolic of Patna
1868 - 1881 Paolo Tosi, Titular Bishop of
Rhodiopolis in Lycia 1826 - 1901
1881 - 1886 Francesco Vicenzo Pesci,
Titular Bishop of Marciana in Lycia 1833 - 1896
Bishop of Allahabad
1886 - 1896 Francesco Vicenzo Pesci s.a.
Prefects Apostolic of Bettiah
1892 - 19.. Ilarione da Abtei
1910 - 191. Eugene Schwaz "Remi de Sontehm"
Bishops of Patna
1920 - 1928 Louis Van Hoeck
1929 - 1946 Bernard Sullivan 1889 - 1970
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