A 59-year-old native of Rajshahi, he was called by Pope Francis to lead the youngest of Bangladesh's dioceses. His words to the faithful, "I come to a new reality for me: I will listen to you and care for you."
Barishal (AsiaNews) - The consecration ceremony of the new bishop Msgr. Emmanuel K. Rozario, appointed by Pope Francis on June 21, was held in the Diocese of Barishal. The rite was held at the Udayan Secondary School in Barishal: presided over by Msgr. Bejoy N D'Cruze, archbishop of Dhaka and president of the Bangladesh Bishops' Conference, it was attended by all nine Catholic bishops of the country, 300 priests, 200 religious men and women and more than 4,000 faithful.
In his homily at the Mass, Msgr. Gervas Rozario-the bishop of Rajshahi, the home diocese of Msgr. Emmanuel K. Rozario-told the bishop-elect, "God has called you to be bishop of the Diocese of Barishal: you have the responsibility to teach God's message and to serve the faithful. You are called to be the representative of Jesus Christ: have a tender heart."
Bishop Emmanuel Rozario-who is 59 years old-becomes the second bishop of Barishal, a young diocese in Bangladesh established by Pope Francis in 2015: it currently has about 18,500 faithful. He picks up the legacy of Msgr. Lawrence Subrato Howlader, a Holy Cross religious, who was appointed archbishop of Chattogram on Feb. 19. Msgr. Rozario was born Feb. 8, 1963, in the village of Deirpara in the Diocese of Rajshahi: he is the fifth of six brothers and two sisters. Ordained a priest in 1993, after studying at Urbaniana University in Rome, he worked in the parishes of Bonpara, Borni and Kolimnagar before serving for 11 years at the Holy Spirit Major Seminary in Dhaka, of which he was rector.
"Being chosen as bishop of Barishal," Msgr. Emmanuel Rozario said during the ceremony, "for me is a call to migration. In the Bible Abraham was called by God to go to another country: in the same way I left my diocese of Rajshahi to come here where I have never worked. First, I will listen to the faithful and take care of them."
On behalf of local Catholics Poddar Golder, a parishoner from Narikslbari parish, comments to AsiaNews, "I expect the new Bishop Emmanuel to take care of us. He will visit all the parishes often. He will be kind to us, he will make the parishes grow. I will definitely pray for him."