Most Rev. Augustine Madathikunnel
Most Augustine Madathikunnel was born on 9 July 1963 in Koolivaya, Kerala, in the diocese of Mananthavady. He studied philosophy and theology at Saint Charles Seminary in Nagpur and was ordained a priest on 18 April 1994 for the diocese of Khandwa.
After ordination, he first held the offices of assistant parish priest in Sirpur (1994-1996), secretary to the bishop and teacher at Saint Thomas School (1996-1997). He was awarded a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy of Rome (1997-1999) and went on to serve as secretary to the bishop (1999-2000), rector of the Saint Pius Seminary and administrator of the Saint Pius School (2000-2010), secretary to the bishop and diocesan bursar (2010-2018), parish priest of Saint Anne (2018-2021) and diocesan administrator of Khandwa (since 2021).
He has been appointed Bishop of Khandwa Diocese by Pope Francis on 17th of February 2024 and was ordained bishop on March 21, 2024.