Pope Francis appointed Salesian priest Nirmol Vincent Gomes as the new bishop of Krishnagar, about 10 kilometers north of the West Bengal state capital Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), on Saturday, April 30.
Father Gomes was born on February 8, 1959, in Ranaghat, in the Diocese of Krishnagar.
After entering the minor seminary of the Salesians of Don Bosco at Bandel as an aspirant, he completed his novitiate at Sunnyside, Shillong.
He did his studies in philosophy in Sonada, Darjeeling, and pursued his theological studies at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, where he was got a doctorate in Education.
Father Gomes made his religious vows as a Salesian of Don Bosco on May 24, 1979, and was ordained priest on July 22, 1989, in his native town of Ranaghat.
Father Nirmol holds a licentiate in pedagogy and a doctorate in pedagogical science from the Pontifical Salesian University.
He was Dean of studies at Salesian College, Sonada (1991-1997; Rector of Salesian College, Sonada (2000-2006); Don Bosco School, Krishnagar (2007-2009); Assistant parish priest in Bongaon (2009-2010); Vice Rector of Don Bosco School, Siliguri (2010-2013); Rector of Don Bosco School, Siliguri (2013-2014); Provincial of the Salesians of Don Bosco of Kolkata Province (2014-2020); and Assistant director of novices and Vice Rector of the Nazareth Bhawan Novitiate, Dhajea, Darjeeling, from 2020 until his appointment.
The Diocese of Krishnagar is one of the seven suffragans of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta.
