On 27 August 2026, the Dicastery for Culture and Education welcomed a delegation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, led by His Eminence Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, President of the Asian Catholic Bishops' Conference, and Archbishop of Goa and Daman. He was accompanied by His Grace Most Rev. Peter Machado, Vice President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India, the Archbishop of Bangalore, and the Chancellor of the St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute (Bangalore), and Moderator of the Institute of Canon Law affiliated with the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, His Grace Most Rev. Vincent Aind, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Archbishop of Ranchi and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology (Ranchi) and Rev. Fr. Stephen Alathara, Deputy General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

Representing the Dicastery for Culture and Education were His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery, His Excellency Most Rev. Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Section for Culture, Mons. Matthias Ambros, Undersecretary for Education and Fr. Arogya Hrudaya Raju Pudhota, SCJ, official responsible for the Education sector in Asia and Oceania.

Two main themes were discussed during the meeting: ecclesiastical education and educational institutes in India, and the importance of culture and safeguarding the diversity of local cultures.