Mymensingh (AsiaNews ) - Thousands of ethnic Garo tribal Catholics celebrated the erection of Diglakona parish in the Diocese of Mymensingh ( Sherpur district ) . The church is dedicated to St Andrew in honor of Brother André Bessette , the first member of the Order of the Holy Cross to be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI October 17, 2010 .
Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi of the
Diocese of Mymensingh , announced the creation of the new parish at the end of
2013 , and a week ago he celebrated official Mass to bless Diglakona . At least 2
thousand Catholics and 27 priests were present. The pastor is Fr. Shekhor Pereira, a priest
of the Holy Cross . "This
parish - he tells AsiaNews - already has many parishioners because we have been
a sub- center of the parish of Mariamnagar for 13 years."
"Catholics
are very active and devoted in this area - adds Fr. Hacha Simon , a local
priest speaking to AsiaNews - day after day, with the help of the Church and
Christian organizations, they are becoming increasingly educated. Nearly all
the priests who serve
here originate in this diocese , and some are now being sent to serve elsewhere".
A Catholic from the area says he is "very happy that our church has become a parish. Now we feel more responsible, we will live and work together with our pastor".
The Diocese of Mymensigh was created in 1987, until then it was part of the Archdiocese of Dhaka. Originally, there were eight parishes in Mymensigh , but in over 25 years it has grown steadily: Diglakona is the 15th parish. The number of Catholics has likewise risen: in 1990 there were 48 241, while today that number exceeds 75 thousand.
A further witness to the vitality of the Catholic Church in a Muslim-majority country is also the erection of a new parish in November 2013: Kodbir, in the diocese of Dinajpur .