Diocese & Our Bishop

The arrival of the first Columban missionary priests from Ireland gave great joy to the veteran missionaries. Divine providence was there once again to spearhead the entire work of evangelization with new vigour and fresh hopes. The first Columban missionaries set foot in Banmaw at the end of October 1936 to take over the mission from the MEP. Up to that time, the Banmaw Mission was under the pastoral care of the Mandalay diocese and the faithful were about 3000.

In 1939, the Holy See formally erected the districts of Banmaw, Myitkyina and Katha into the Prefecture Apostolic of Banmaw, and on the 11th of February of the same year, the French Missionaries officially handed over the mission to the Columban Missionaries at the village of Manmawkawng in Gauri Krung. Rev. Fr. Patrick Usher was named the first Prefect Apostolic. The Second World War disrupted the growing mission activities, and priests and nuns had to take refuge in Mandalay leprosy Colony. When they came back in 1945, the war left nothing for them. They had to start everything from the beginning.

The courageous Msgr. Patrick Usher died in 1958; consoled by the splendid recovery of the mission after the devastating war years, a good hope for the future of the church in Banmaw – Myitkyina area. The Vicar Delegate and Pro-prefect Rev. Fr. John Howe succeeded Msgr. Usher and a magnificent Church was built in Banmaw. Archbishop J.R. Knox who was then the Apostolic Delegate for Myanmar blessed the church in 1960.

In 1961, the Prefecture Apostolic was erected into diocese of Myitkyina and in the same year, Msgr. John Howe was consecrated Bishop of Myitkyina by His Grace Archbishop U Win of Mandalay. On the 27th March 1965, Msgr. John Howe and the Diocese had one of their greatest joys in ordaining the first Kachin Priest in the person of Paul Zinghtung Grawng.

As well prepared ahead on 3rd April 1976, Bishop Howe, with the mandate and blessing of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, ordained Fr. Paul Grawng as his Auxiliary Bishop. The following year the Diocese was handed over to the indigenous clergy and the Columbans finally left in 1979.

Banmaw Diocese is situated in the Southeast part of the Kachin State bordered with China to the East, Myitkyina Diocese to the Northwest, Mandalay Archdiocese and Lashio Diocese to the South.

Banmaw Diocese includes Banmaw, Momauk, Shwegu and Mansi administrative townships. It is approximately 10,741 Sq.klm with civil population of about 372,275 intercultural living with diverse ethnic people such as Burmese, Kachin, Karen, Shan, Chinese, Indian, and other tribes with their own dialects; and a Catholic population of 34,151 living scattered on the hill and the rest living on lower lands. There are 13 parishes with 1 Bishop, 28 priests, 71 religious, 3 Columban Lay Missionaries, 234 catechists, 9 major seminarians and about 18 minor seminarians in Banmaw diocese.

The greater part of the diocese is mountainous area with communication difficulties. The Ayeyarwaddy, the main river of the country, flows through the Western part of the region, North to South, providing water resources and means of transport and irrigation. Land roads and very occasional plane services facilitate travel in parts of the diocese, but some parts of the hill sections have to be covered on foot. Thirty percent of the land roads are paved with tar and forty percent with stone gravel and the rest are clay roads. All the parish centers can be reached by car but some of them are accessible only by a good condition 4-wheel drive car during the dry season.