The area of the Diocese of Visakhapatnam now consists of the area of the civil districts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and part of Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh.

This territory was part of the Diocese of Mylapore from 1806, and in 1833 it became part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Madras.  However, organized Church work began to take place only from 1845, when it was erected into a separate Pro-Vicariate on 16th March, 1845 and was handed over to the Fathers of St. Francis de Sales of Annecy, France.  Later it was made a Vicariate Apostolic through a Brief of Pope Pius IX, on 3rd April, 1850; and it was constituted into a Diocese when the Indian Hierarchy was established on 1st September 1886.  This original territory of the Diocese of Visakhapatnam in 1886 has given shape by now to some fourteen Dioceses including three Archdioceses, Nagpur being the first one in 1887 and Srikakulam being the latest one in 1993.

The First Fathers of St. Francis de Sales on their arrival in Visakhapatnam found there one old Theatine priest who was the last survivor of the priests from Mylapore.  At that time there were only a few Catholics scattered about who were mostly European troops in 1850 their total number was estimated to be 4000 even though the Vicariate included the Central Province and Berar which were separated from Visakhapatnam in 1886.  The present Diocese is only less than one twentieth in area of the original Diocese in 1886.

It became an Archdiocese on October 30, 2001. The Metropolitan have as its suffragans the diocese of Srikakulam, Eluru, Vijayawada, Guntur and Nellore, lying near the coastal belt on the Bay of Bengal.

With the erection of the new Ecclesiastical Province of Visakhapatnam the province of Hyderabad will have its suffragans the dioceses of Cuddapah, Khammam, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Warangal and the Syro - Malabar Eparchy of Adilabad.

Abp KAGITHAPU MARIADAS