Eight Scholastics of the Brothers of Holy Cross in Bangladesh Take the Final Vow

(L-R) Brothers Nicholas Tolentino CSC, Provat Placid Purification CSC, Placid Rebeiro CSC, Shimul Andreas Rozario CSC, Sanchoy Mathias Rozario CSC, Sumon Joseph Costa CSC, Toren Joseph Palma CSC and Chayan Victor Corraya CSC -- eight scholastics of the Brothers of Holy Cross in Bangladesh -- took their final vow on November 23 at St. John the Baptist Church of Tumilia

Photo @ the courtesy of Brother Binoy Gomes, CSC

Eight scholastics of St. Joseph’s Province of the Brothers of Holy Cross in Bangladesh took their final vow on November 23 at St. John the Baptist Church of Tumilia in Gazipur District, Bangladesh.

Bishop Subrato Lawrence Howlader, CSC, the auxiliary bishop of Chittagong, concelebrated the solemn Mass, where dozens of priests, Brothers and Sisters of Holy Cross as well as some other Congregations participated. Several hundred lay men and women, including parents and relatives of the scholastics, were also in attendance. A cultural show and banquet followed the Mass.

On the previous day, scholastics from the parishes of Rangamatia and Nagori came to join their compatriots at Tumilia with their relatives and well-wishers, who sang and danced on the way. After an hour of the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, all the scholastics underwent a gaye-holud (turmeric-smearing) ceremony according to a local custom. This ceremony symbolizes the purification of the body and soul. 

Presently, 92 Brothers of Holy Cross are labouring in the vineyard of Bangladesh. They mainly run and teach in schools in the Archdiocese of Dhaka and the dioceses of Chittagong, Dinajpur and Mymensingh.