Bishop of Tiruchirapalli
Msgr. Savarimuthu Arokiaraj was born on 24 October 1954 in Lalapettai, in the diocese of Tiruchirapalli. He carried out his studies in philosophy (1974-1976) and in theology (1977-1980) at Saint Peter’s Seminary in Bangalore. He was awarded a doctorate in theology with specialisation in liturgy at the Institut Catholique de Paris (2002). He was ordained a priest on 8 January 1981 for the diocese of Tiruchirapalli. Since priestly ordination, he has held the following offices: parish vicar of Saint Joseph’s Church, Dindigul (1981); parish priest in Ayyampatty (1981-1986) and Udayapatty (1986-1987); secretary of the Commission for the Liturgy of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council (1988-1991, 2002-2008); regional secretary of the Commission for the Liturgy, Tindivanam (1991-1994); diocesan chancellor (2009-2015) and parish priest in Subramaniapuram (2009-2012); teacher of liturgy at Saint Paul’s Seminary (2012-2015); parish priest of the Cathedral of Tiruchirapalli (2014ì5-2016); rector of Saint Paul’s Seminary (2016-2019) and, since 2019, rector of the Holy Redeemer’s Basilica in Tiruchirapalli.