Jadi Jamalpur, a far-flung village in Bodhan mandal in Nizamabad district, celebrated the episcopal silver jubilee celebrations of Rt Rev Mallavarapu Prakash, Archbishop of Visakhapatnam, on his completion of 25 years as bishop/archbishop.
Bordering Maharashtra, Jadi Jamalpur residents turned out in large numbers to celebrate the occasion as the Archbishop hails from this village. After being installed as Bishop by the Vatican, he served the other regions of the undivided AP, initially Kadapa Diocese (1998), then Vijayawada Diocese (2002) and finally Visakhapatnam (2012) diocese, which included Vizianagaram and erstwhile East Godavari districts also. The last appointment to Visakhapatnam archdiocese was made in the presence of the Pope’s nuncio Pinnachio Salvotore.
A striking aspect of Rt Rev Prakash is that he researched Vedas and scriptures like Bhagavatham at Gnanadeepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, that often took him to Varanasi for a comparative study of religions. After obtaining Ph.D in these and completing religious studies at the Papal seminary, again Pune, he went to the US where he did his post-graduation in theology in Loyola University, Chicago.
The entire village wore a festival look as the Archbishop was taken around in flower decked jeep to the St. Joseph’s church.
