It was on March 16, 1845 the new Pre vicariate of Vishakhapatnam was created by a decree of Pope Gregory XVI with territories separated from the vicariate of Madras, and was entrusted to the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales of Annecy, France. 435000 sq. m was entrusted to the care of MSFS regions extending from Yanam to Vishakhapatnam and Cuttack on the East coast, to Kamptee, Amravati and Jabalpur in the North and Kandwa, Jalna and Aurangabad. This area lies today in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and there were 8000 Catholics scattered throughout in 1845.

The Missionaries arrived in Kamptee in 1846. Around this time, central India had hardly been touched by the Christian Missions. No steady evangelization work had ever been done there, and the presence of the church was marked only by scattered groups of Christians, visited occasionally by Goan priests of Golconda Mission, and a few Irish Chaplains following in the garrisons the soldiers of the East India Company.

From 1888, the MSFS Mission, which formed a single province was divided into two dioceses of Visakhapatnam and Nagpur. Each diocese became a separate region, with its own regional superior. Bishop Alexis Ricazz was the first regional superior of Nagpur Region with 6465 Catholics.

The Birth of Nagpur Province

The Provincial Congress of Province of Maharashtra-Goa, held in Nagpur from the 9th to the 14th November 1993, very clearly proposed the division of the province into two provinces. Then, the provincial administration conducted an opinion poll to elicit concrete suggestions on various aspects of the division.

The objectives of the division of M.G .Province are as follows;

• Better & Effective Administration
• Vigorous Vocation Promotion and Quality Formation
• Missionary Dynamism
• Better contact and guidance of communities by the Provincial

The General Chapter 1995 decided to divide the Province of Maharashtra-Goa into two Provinces to be known as Nagpur Province and Pune Province. The division of the Province of Maharashtra- Goa, as decided by the General Chapter 1995, formally came into effect for Nagpur Province on August 15, 1996. The Nagpur Province includes the Dioceses of Rourkela, Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nashik and the State of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana with its headquarters in Nagpur.

On August 15, 1996 the new Provincial, Fr. Joseph Pottemmel, took charge of Nagpur Province.

It is a long history from the time the Fransalians set foot in Kamptee. We are glad to have been blessed by such wonderful missionaries. May their lives continue to be an inspiration to all of us. The fruitful work begun by Fr. Peter Mermier is being continued. MSFS Nagpur Province spread over Nine states in India and Mozambique and Missionaries working in Germany, Swizerland, America, France, Italy and England we carry on an apostolate centered on Proclamation of the word of God, the education of youth, and the founding and animation of the church communities.