Pope Leo XIV has appointed Rev. Fr. Agnelo Pinheiro, of this Archdiocese, as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Sindhudurg. The official announcement was made at the Vatican at 12.00 p.m. on 14 February 2026. At the same time, that is, at 04.30 p.m. IST, the announcement was delivered at the Archbishop’s House, Panjim, by His Eminence Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrão, in the presence of Most Rev. Alwyn Barreto, Bishop Emeritus of Sindhudurg, Most Rev. Simião P. Fernandes, Auxiliary Bishop of Goa and Daman, Rt. Rev. Monsignor Andrew D’Mello, Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Sindhudurg and a few other members of the Church Leadership of the Diocese of Sindhudurg and of this Archdiocese. The Bishop-Elect, Most Rev. Agnelo Pinheiro, was also present at the brief meeting.
After the announcement, Bishop Alwyn Barreto and Msgr. Andrew D’Mello conveyed their best wishes and assured their support for his ministry. The last one to take the microphone was the Bishop-Elect himself who humbly surrendered himself to the grace and guidance of God and called upon all the priests and faithful to pray for him and support each other in this synodal journey. He said that “to you I am a Bishop but with you I am a fellow pilgrim in this synodal journey”
Bishop-Elect Agnelo Pinheiro was born in Raia, Goa, on 6July 1972. In 1988, after completing his SSC at St. Theresa’s High School, Raia, he joined the Diocesan Minor Seminary and St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School at Mapusa. In May 1990, upon the completion of his Higher Secondary School studies, he secured the 4th rank in the XII Board Exam in the State of Goa.
After going through an Orientation Year in the Minor Seminary of Our Lady, Saligao-Pilerne, he joined the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol in June 1991, for his Philosophical and Theological studies. Between his Philosophy and Theology Courses, i.e. from 1993 to 1996, he completed, with distinction, his graduation in Psychology, at St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa.
On 28 October 2000, he was ordained Priest and appointed, for one year, as Assistant to the Parish Priest at St. Alex Church, Calangute. From June 2001 to May 2002, he completed his statutory one-year Pastoral Course at the Pastoral Institute St. Pius X, Old Goa. In May 2004, he received the Master’s Degree in Philosophy at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, being appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol in the same year. In October 2016, he earned his Doctorate in Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. In June 2017, he was again appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol, a ministry he continues to exercise till today. For one year (June 2022 to May 2023), he was also the Parochial Administrator of St. Joseph’s Church in Dramapur. Since 2018 he has also been appointed In-Charge of the Apostolate of Inter-Religious Dialogue in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, a field where he has gained considerable recognition, both in and outside the Church.
Bishop Agnelo is the last among the nine children born to late Pedro Santana Pinheiro and late Maria Margarida Quadros. Fr. Richard Pinheiro, the Parish Priest of Santa Cruz (Goa), is the fourth among the five girls and four boys. He was also present during the announcement of the Cardinal.
The Diocese of Sindhudurg, created in 2005, became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman a year later. Ecclesiastically, the districts of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri were part of this Archdiocese until 1953, when they were included in the Diocese of Poona. They were formed into the Diocese of Sindhudurg in 2005, upon the creation of the new Diocese.
The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman extends warm congratulations to her illustrious son, the new Bishop elect of Sindhudurg, on his new appointment, and wishes him God’s chosen blessings.
