In a land area of 25, 000 square kilometers, the diocesan territory covers revenue districts of Bhopal, Harda, Hoshangabad and Sehore.
Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh and is the main rail junction of Central India.
The city hogged international attention after the worst industrial disaster when the Union Carbide plant leaked deadly methyl isocyanate gas during the night of Dec. 3, 1984, which claimed over 20,000 lives and affected more than 500,000 people.
It has two beautiful big lakes and has small hills within its boundaries.
Bhopal has a population of 1,836,784 with 968,964 males and 867,820 females. The population consists of 56 percent Hindus and 38 percent Muslims. Others are Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists.
Ethnic groups in the territory include Maharahstrians, Gujaratis, Malayalees, Marwaris, Tamils and Telugus.
Most of the people speak Hindi, Urdu and Malwi but there are many people who speak English.
The history of the Catholic Church in Bhopal goes back to 1785 when Salvador Bourbon, a descendant of the French Royal Catholic Family of Bourbons, came to Bhopal to work for the reigning Begum Mamola. In 1829 Bhopal was officially a part of the Agra vicariate. It was Bishop Hartmann OFM Cap, who is considered as the founder of the Church of Bhopal. In 1873, he acquired a plot of land from the Muslim ruler of Bhopal and built the first church, which became the Cathedral of the newly erected archdiocese of Bhopal in 1964.
In 1886, the diocese of Allahabad was formed and Bhopal was then attached to this new diocese. On March 11, 1935, the Mission Territory of Indore was elevated to prefecture to Indore. In 1958, the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh was shifted from Nagpur to Bhopal and this necessitated the creation of the new archdiocese of Bhopal.
Bishop Eugene D'Souza was transferred from Nagpur to Bhopal to be its first archbishop.
Archbishop Eugene laid down his office and handed over to Bishop Pascal Topno, SJ, of Ambikapur, who was promoted as archbishop of Bhopal on May 20, 1994. On June 15, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dr Leo Cornelio as the new archbishop of Bhopal. Archbishop Leo Cornelio retired on October 4, 2021 and Archbishop Alangaram Arokia Sebastian Durairaj took the office on October 4, 2021.
Suffragan dioceses of the archdiocese are Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Jhabua, Khandwa, Sagar (Syro-Malabarese), Satna (Syro-Malabarese), Ujjain (Syro-Malabarese).
It is very well connected via railway, road and air services.
Bhopal has a humid-subtropical climate, with mild, dry winters, a hot summer and a humid monsoon season. Summer starts in March and continues till mid-June. The average temperature being around 30 degrees Celsius, with the peak of summer in May, the temperature rises up to 44 degrees Celsius. The monsoon starts in late June and ends in late September.
Bhopal has several major industries of electrical goods, cotton, chemicals and jewellery.
Being the state capital, the city has a majority of residents working for the state and central governments. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India, has a unit in Bhopal.
Bhopal has more than 250 state government-run schools. There are also nine Kendriya Vidyalayas (central schools) in the city. Additionally, there are numerous convent and private schools. Bhopal has 70 engineering colleges.
