Pope Francis appointed Father James Shekhar as Bishop of Buxar diocese on Feb 4, 2023.
Bishop James Shekhar was born on Sept. 23, 1967, in Singamparai in Palayamkottai, a diocese in Tamil Nadu. He attended the Minor Seminary of Muzaffarpur and later the St Joseph Major Seminary in Allahabad. He was ordained priest on May 26, 1996, for the archdiocese of Patna.
He served as the parish vicar at Mokama from 1996 to 1997 and was director of youth ministry of the archdiocese and professor at St. Mary’s Seminary (1998-2003).
He has studied licentiate in biblical theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and doctorate in biblical theology at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
He served as the secretary to the Patna archbishop for six years until 2015. He has also worked as the diocesan director for social work of Patna archdiocese and director of Bihar social forum.
