In a land area of 145,663 square kilometers, the diocesan territory covers civil districts of Greater Bombay, Thane, Raigad, Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Solapppur, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgon, Nandurbar and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra state.
Mumbai is the biggest city in the diocese. Pune, Thane, Kolhapur, Nashik are the other important cities and towns in the diocese.
Nearly 48,570,844 is the total population in the diocesan territory. Marathas form the major ethnic group.
Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and English are the languages used in the territory.
The history of the Kalyan diocese is much intertwined with the the Syro-Malabar Church in India. Having its roots in the Apostolic Ministry of St. Thomas , Christians migrated to different parts of India. They concentrated mainly in the big cities of India.
In Maharashtra, they were found mostly in Bombay, Pune and Nashik. The spiritual care of these regions are assisted by lay association like Kerala Catholic Association (Bombay) and St. Thomas Christians of India (Pune).
On Sept. 8, 1978, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Antony Padiyara, the then archbishop of Changanacherry, as the apostolic visitor to study the situation. A pontifical commission was appointed and on the basis of its report came the establishment of new dioceses for the Syro-Malabar Christians of Bombay, Pune and Nashik regions. Thus, the birth of the diocese and the appointment of the first bishop took effect from April 30, 1988.
The episcopal ordination and the official inauguration of the diocese took place on Aug. 24, 1988.
After nine years of dedicated and pioneering work in the newly born diocese, Bishop Paul Chittilappilly was transferred to the diocese of Thamarassery in Kerala on Dec. 18, 1996. His successor and the second bishop of Kalyan diocese was Mar Thomas Elavanal, whose consecration was on Feb. 8, 1997.
The Cities are managed by corporations. The villages and small towns are administered by elected local bodies called panchayats and municipalities, respectively.
The diocesan area is well connected in terms of transport infrastructure by roads and railways. The nearest airport is in Mumbai city (formerly Bombay).
The per capita income in the diocesan territory is Rs 15,900 ($350) as of February 2011.
Agriculture, fishing are the major occupations in the diocesan area.
Government and private operators provide extensive telecommunication facilities in the diocesan area. The diocese is well connected by local cable TV networks.
Nearly 70 percent is the literacy rate in the diocesan territory.
