Bishop of Chikmagalur
Anthony Swamy Thomasappa was born on February 9, 1951, in Mariannapalaya, a suburb of Bangalore in Karnataka. He attended schools in his village and in Bangalore, and after completing his secondary education, he pursued university studies for a few years. In 1970, he entered the propaedeutic seminary in Mysore and later transferred to the one in Bangalore. In 1973, he entered St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary in Bangalore, where he undertook his philosophical and theological studies. He was ordained a priest on May 20, 1984, in his home parish and incardinated into the Archdiocese of Bangalore. Following his ordination, he held the following positions: 1984–1988: Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ulsoor, Bangalore; 1988–1990: Parish Priest of Resurrection Church, Bangalore; 1990–1992: Parish Priest of St. Theresa's Church, J.C. Road, Bangalore; since 1992: Professor at St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore; 1994–1997: Doctoral studies in Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. He is currently a member of the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Bangalore and performs pastoral service on holy days at St. Anne's Mission Station in Mestripalaya. At the seminary, in addition to his teaching duties, he leads the Kannada Sangha Academy and oversees the Institute's publications. Since 2003, he has also served as Head of the Department of Missiology.