Anthony Francis Sharma: Difference between revisions

{{Primary sources|date=April 2021}}

'''Anthony Francis Sharma''' [[Society of Jesus|S.J.]] (December 12, 1937 &ndash; December 8, 2015) was a [[Nepal]]ese [[Jesuit]] prelate and educator who became the first [[Roman Catholic]] bishop of [[Nepal]]. A member of the Society of Jesus, Sharma was appointed the prefect of Nepal in 1996 by Pope John Paul II.<ref name=cherald>{{cite news |title=Nepal's first bishop, a ‘great educator’ who taught two kings, dies aged 77 dies |url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/12/10/nepals-first-bishop-a-great-educator-who-taught-two-kings-dies-aged-77/ |work=[[The Catholic Herald]] |date=2015-12-10 |access-date=2015-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807022721/http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/12/10/nepals-first-bishop-a-great-educator-who-taught-two-kings-dies-aged-77/ |archive-date=2017-08-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was ordained Nepal's first Catholic bishop in 2007.<ref name=cherald/><ref>[https://www.ucanews.com/news/nepals-first-bishop-dies/74757 Nepals's first bishop dies]</ref>

Sharma oversaw the growth of the modern [[Roman Catholicism in Nepal|Roman Catholic Church in Nepal]].<ref name=cherald/> He founded Caritas Nepal, the Catholic service organization, in 1990.<ref name=cherald/> He lobbied for official recognition of the Catholic faith by the government. In 1993, the Nepal Catholic Society won official recognition.<ref name=cherald/> Sharma also oversaw the establishment of 23 Catholic schools in the country.<ref name=cherald/>

Born in [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]], Sharma was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the [[Society of Jesus]] in 1968. In 1984, Sharma was appointed superior and then prefect of Nepal in 1996. He was appointed titular bishop of ''Gigtha'' and vicar apostolic of Nepal in 2007. In 2014, Sharma retired.<ref>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsharma.html Anthony Francis Sharma]</ref>

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