Fr Albert Hemrom becomes coadjutor Bishop of Catholic diocese of Dibrugarh

Staff Correspondent

Dibrugarh: The Vatican on Sunday announced Fr (Dr) Albert Hemrom as the coadjutor Bishop and subsequent successor of Bishop Joseph Aind of the Catholic diocese of Dibrugarh. The Catholic diocese of Dibrugarh comprises the civil districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Majuli, Jorhat and Golaghat. Pope Francis made the announcement on Sunday at around 4:30pm (IST), following which incumbent Bishop Aind pronounced the name of Fr Albert Hemrom as the next Bishop before a huge congregation.

Bishop designate Fr Albert Hemrom, who is a Ph. D holder in Canon Law, will be the sixth Bishop of Dibrugarh. The 49-year old Bishop designate will be the youngest Bishop in the entire Northeast.

Following the announcement, priests, nuns and members of the Catholic community congratulated the Bishop designate at Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Bishop’s House here.

Fr Albert Hemrom will be consecrated as a Bishop on March 3, 2019 in presence of about 20 bishops and a huge Catholic congregation in Bishop’s House. Hemrom will be the coadjutor Bishop till the retirement of Bishop Aind on November 6, 2020. Thereafter, he will take over the administration of the diocese as the Bishop.

Currently, he is the Rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dibrugarh. He also holds the post of Judicial Vicar of the Catholic Diocese. In the capacity of the Judicial Vicar, he is a member of the governing board of the Diocese. He is also the vocation promoter of the Diocese of Dibrugarh.

Bishop designate Fr. Albert Hemrom was born on February 27, 1969 in a remote Konapathar village in Pengaree of Tinsukia district to Cyril Hemrom and Josephine Purty. He is the eldest son of the six children. He has two brothers and three sisters. He had his early schooling in Assamese Medium Primary School, Konapathar and later he continued his schooling in Don Bosco School, Doom Dooma. He joined St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dibrugarh and completed his matriculation in 1987 from Nongkseh High School, Upper Shillong. He completed his PU studies in the year 1989 from St. Anthonys College, Shillong.

At the tender age of 14, he opted for the vocation for priesthood and pursued his academic and ecclesiastical studies. He obtained degree in Philosophy and BA in 1993 from Christ King College, Shillong and Bachelors in Theology (B.Th) in 1999 from Oriens Theological College, Shillong. He was ordained a priest on April 25, 1999 at Philobari.

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