Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze Appointed
the Archbishop of Dhaka, Bangladesh
‘The bishop without land, without a house and without a car.’
He brings
in his Sylhet Diocese experience.
By Father Francis
Sunil Rosario, Kolkata
The son the
soil, Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze from the Congregation of Oblates of Mary
Immaculate (OMI) is named the new Archbishop of Dhaka. This announcement was
made from the Vatican City at 12.00 Noon (Vatican Time) and Dhaka at 4.00 P.M.
(Bangladesh time) on Sept. 30. Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI, succeeds, His Eminence,
Archbishop Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario in the episcopate, its highest rank in
position to serve the Archdiocese of Dhaka.
Most Rev. Bejoy Nicephorus D’Cruze, OMI was born on Feb. 9, 1956, at Puran Tuital, Nawabgonj
sub-district, which comes under the district of Dhaka. He was ordained a priest on Feb. 20, 1987. He had served as the Bishop of
Khulna from 2005 to 2011 and later on was appointed the bishop of Sylhet on July 8, 2011
and was installed as the first Bishop of Sylhet on Sept.
30, 2011.
The newly appointed Archbishop D’Cruze has been
serving as the Secretary General of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh
(CBCB) since Aug. 15, 2020. He has also served as the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission
for Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue and the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB).
The Dhaka Archdiocese's
Marian Mother Church and thus seat of its archbishop is St. Mary’s Cathedral in
the national capital Dhaka. As senior Metropolitan in Bangladesh, it is the
principal Episcopal See of the country.
The Dhaka Archdiocesan area of 26,788 sq. kilometres includes
one of the country's eight divisions. It comprises the civil districts of
Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Dhaka, Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj,
Narsingdi and Narayanganj. Dhaka is the national capital of Bangladesh.
In 1834, the Vicariate Apostolic of Bengal was created under the
jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. In 1850,
this Vicariate was divided into two, the Apostolic Vicariates of Eastern and
Western Bengal. In 1852, the Vicariate of Eastern Bengal, with its headquarters
in Dhaka, was entrusted to the newly-founded Congregation of the Holy Cross,
whose first missioners arrived in 1853. The congregation still serves in
Bangladesh.
When India gained independence in 1947, Dhaka was still a
suffragan of the Archdiocese of Calcutta in India. It was
elevated to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dacca by Pope Pius XII on 15 July,
1950. It headed
a new ecclesiastical province with Chittagong, Dinajpur, and Jessore
(present-day Khulna) dioceses as suffragans. Holy Cross Father Lawrence Leo
Graner was appointed the first Archbishop of Dhaka.
In September 1960, Pope John XXlll gave Dhaka (and Bangladesh as
a whole) its first Bengali bishop in the person of Auxiliary Bishop Theotonius
A. Ganguly, CSC. In November 1967, Bishop Ganguly became the first Bengali Archbishop
of Dhaka. Following his death in September 1977, Bishop Michael Rozario of
Dinajpur was appointed the third Archbishop of Dhaka on December 17, 1977. He
was installed on April 9, 1978.
Chronologically, the Archbishops of Dhaka who served this metropolitan
Archdiocese, since 1950 were: Lawrence Leo Graner, C.S.C. (1950-1967),
Theotonius Amal Gangly, C.S.C. (1967-1977), Michael Rozario (1977-2005),
Paulinus Costa (2005-2011), Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario, C.S. C. (2011 – 2020)
Bangladesh 2020 population is estimated
at 164,689,383 people at mid-year according to UN data.
Bangladesh's population is equivalent to 2.11% of the total world population.
The population is estimated at
161 million (2018). About (90%) of Bangladeshis are Muslims, followed by Hindus
(8.9%), Buddhists (0.6%) and Christians (0.4%) and others. Bangladesh has
one of the highest population densities in the world.
His Mission as
Archbishop of Dhaka
Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze is bringing with him a rich experience
in his many pastoral endeavors. Especially, his dialogue with Muslim, Buddhists,
Hindus and the Tribal Indigenous communities. He has also rich experience in
Ecumenism through his mission as Chairman of Dialogue & Ecumenism,
CBCB.
For him, Dhaka, the
capital of Bangladesh, will be most challenging in his pastoral endeavors. He
is now being raised from the periphery dioceses of Bangladesh, i..e Khulna and
Sylhet to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dhaka. His many experiences with
various situations and difficult times will definitely help him to carry on
with his pastoral care programs in the Archdiocese.
His Role as Leader, his Dialogue Mission
in Bangladesh & His Vision for the Country
His experience in Sylhet Diocese among
the Muslims was: “I did not even have a
house of my own. I was renting a room in a house belonging to Muslims, where I
was not allowed to celebrate the Eucharist. Nor was I permitted to hold any
religious meetings.” ‘The bishop without land,
without a house and without a car’ is something unthinkable in our world of
globalization. Being a leader, he practices ‘Servant Leadership’ in his style
of functioning. He pursued his
mission among the poor tea plantation workers and tribal groups, in a Muslim
country. Through developing the spirit of dialogue and Ecumenism, he
will certainly be an effective leader for the growth of the Church in
Bangladesh.
His commitment to pastoral care and the program of ‘New
Evangelization’ will be to promote healthy fellowship and understanding among
all people. A
number of different projects for spiritual formation and human development,
together with the pastoral, educational and justice and peace commissions, he
will be able to address.
His tactful
ways in the administration and management style, with the inclusive system, will
definitely bear much fruit to bring the divergent forces to work for God’s
greater Glory. In the face of divisions, divisiveness, by the grace of God, he
will surely be able to sail the boat and take the people of God to holiness and
commitment to the cause entrusted to all baptized and for His glory, to build
His Church.
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