Dhaka (AsiaNews) - "Words are fleeting; books remain," said Fr Silvano Garello, 74, a member of the Xaverian Missionaries society. "For this reason, I have based my mission on the written word. I believe that for Bangladesh, it is one of the most fruitful methods. Even many Muslims benefit from it," he told AsiaNews.
The Xaverian missionary has lived and worked in Bangladesh for more than 40 years, dedicated to publishing and distribution of Christian books in Bangla (Bengali language).
Born in Valdagno (Italy) on 31 December 1938, Fr Garello was ordained 25 October 1964. In Rome, he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
A few years later, in 1970, he left for what was then East Pakistan, which become independent a year later as Bangladesh.
After studying Bangla and dividing his time between various parishes and seminaries, he decided in 2002 to devote himself to promoting Catholic books, writing brochures and booklets in Bangla on behalf of the National Social Catechetical and Social Training Centre in Jessore.
He also translated the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and some papal encyclicals.
Between 1986 and 1996, he also directed the bimonthly Mogolbarta (The Good News).
"So far, I have written the biographies of 50 saints and published more than 200 books, including commentaries on the Bible, books of liturgy, prayer and catechesis, addressed to priests, religious, children, students and lay people," Fr Garello told AsiaNews.
His readers also include Muslims. in fact, "One madrassa [Islamic school] bought many of my books for its library."