Selfless catechists lead Church s pastoral mission in Bangladesh
Volunteers spread the Catholic faith in remote areas to be rewarded by more than mere money
Shilpi Das’ life has been divided into two segments for more than 10 years now.
The 33-year-old Catholic mother of two from a village under Queen of Fatima Church in Bangladesh s Thakurgaon district looks after her family with her husband. She is also a catechist who travels to remote villages near the Indian border.
Dinajpur Diocese has about 100 full-time and volunteer catechists. Shilpi became one of them against the will of her farmer husband. She gets only travel costs as an honorary monthly payment for a host of services she renders as a volunteer catechist.
Christian folk music makes a comeback in Bangladesh ucanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ucanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Stephan Uttom Rozario
Uncertainty has gripped Bangladesh’s most popular Catholic pilgrimage as church leaders hesitate to hold the annual feast of St. Anthony of Padua amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The St. Anthony of Padua shrine in Panjora village of Gazipur district in the Archdiocese of Dhaka holds the pilgrimage in the first week of February each year, attracting up to 50,000 people in the largest annual Christian gathering in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
The feast of the miraculous Portuguese saint falls on June 13 but in Panjora it is celebrated during February’s favorable weather to encourage pilgrims.
However, the fate of this year’s pilgrimage still hangs in the balance, while rumors have spread the feast will be suspended altogether.
Bangladeshi Christians brace for a subdued Christmas Churches in Bangladesh have decided to drop cultural programs, carol competitions and common meals due to the pandemic
Young Bangladeshi Catholics decorate St. Rita’s Church in Mothurapur of Pabna district ahead of Christmas. (Photo: Stephan Uttom/UCA News)
Kamol Biswas Christmas season has come with a very different experience from last year. When my first child was born shortly after Christmas last year, I was extremely happy and believed the year 2020 was going to be full of blessings and successes, Biswas, 31, told UCA News.
But his high hopes hit stony ground in March when Covid-19 fell upon Bangladesh.