Antonysamy was born on 15 February 1952 in Trichy, Tamilnadu.[3] He completed his primary education in Trichy and entered St. Augustine's Minor Seminary. He completed his Bachelor of Philosophy and Master of Theology degrees at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.[4]
He was ordained a Catholic priest on 19 November 1980.[3] He served as an assistant parish priest at Holy Redeemer's Minor Basilica, Trichy for one year.[4]
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 March 1987. His early postings included assignments in Indonesia, Algeria, the Central African Republic, Bangladesh, and Lithuania.[3] He became the Chargé d'affaires of the nunciature in Jordan in 2002.[4]
He received his episcopal consecration on 21 September 2005 from Cardinal Ivan Dias.[2]
On 20 September 2005 he was named Nuncio to Sierra Leone as well.[5]
He was replaced as Apostolic Nuncio to Guinea by Martin Krebs on 8 September 2008,[6] but continued to hold his other appointments as Nuncio.
On 21 November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him archbishop of Madras and Mylapore.[7]
In May 2018, he led demonstrations and protested police brutality against Catholic protesters who oppose the expansion of a copper plant. He said the protests "drew inspiration" from the directive Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si that "the church should return to its mission of ministering to the poor and marginalized, advancing the cause of the environment for those who most depend on it."[8]
In 2018 he was one of four delegates elected by the Indian Catholic Bishops' Conference to participate in the Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment.[9]
