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| Brother Donald Joseph Becker, C.S.C., a missionary in Bangladesh for 56 years |
Photo (Brothers' Residence at Mohammadpur, Dhaka: January 22, 2012) © Jerome D'Costa
Brother
Donald Joseph Becker, CSC (1932-2013), a US member of the Congregation of Holy Cross,
died on April 25 this year of advanced-age complications at the residence of
the Brothers of Holy Cross at Mohammadpur of Dhaka. He was buried in the
Christian cemetery at Wari, Dhaka.
A missionary
for 56 years, he is popularly known as “Brother Donald.” He was diminutive but
active person all his life. Due to the burden of his age, he became gaunt, yet
his lingering smile that he always wore did not fade ever.
Born in Quincy, Illinois, USA, on April 23,
1932, Brother Donald entered the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1952. He
received his B.Sc. degree in Biology in 1955 from the University of Notre Dame
in Indiana, USA. In the same year, he took his final vows as a Brother.
In 1957,
Brother Donald went to the then East Pakistan (since 1971, called Bangladesh)
as a missionary and continued his service until his death.
He taught at
St. Gregory’s High School in Dhaka in the 1960s and 1970s. For many years he
was involved with St. Joseph’s School of Industrial Trades at Narinda. He was a
pioneer of technical and vocational training in Bangladesh. He also served as
the first Director of the Technical School Project of Caritas Bangladesh and as
a staff of the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Centre for Addicts (BARACA)
between 1983 and 1994.
He supervised
construction of many buildings belonging to the Brothers of Holy Cross. He was “always
concerned about how to do good construction work at a low cost.” He also helped
Brother Ronald Drahozal, CSC, in the construction of the APON (Ashokti
Purnorbashon Nibash), a residence and centre for drug addiction treatment and
rehabilitation in Dhaka.
He had a
profound love for Bangladesh. At the last stage of his life in 2012, he was in
the USA for rest and health check-up. He first refused to undergo some needed
medical procedures, but upon his Superior’s insistence, he relented. His
condition did not improve much and he was told to stay in the USA for the rest
of his life. He declined and coaxed his Superior to allow him to return to
Bangladesh, where he died a few months later.
Brother
Binoy Gomes, CSC, former Provincial of the Holy Cross Brothers in Bangladesh,
says: “He was a member of our [Bangladesh] Province. He wanted to live and die
in Bangladesh…. He liked to be one of us.”
Brother
Donald was well-known for his austere and simple life-style, which was a
reflection of the vow of poverty that he took so seriously. Ajmal Sobhan, a
former Muslim student of St. Gregory’s High School in Dhaka and a long-time
friend of the Brother, writes: “Brother Donald was a simple man and lived a
very ‘Spartan’ life. I have rarely ever seen him wear something new. He wore
give-away clothing which had been sewn and repaired many times over.”
Ajmal Sobhan
further writes: “His [Brother Donald’s] only true passion was trekking and
hiking. It was my fortune to have been able to share with him the passion of
trekking and hiking. He was the person who introduced me to both [of] these
vocations.” Brother Donald bicycled the lengths and breadths of Bangladesh with
Brother Ronald Drahozal, CSC.
Assessing
Brother Donald’s life, Brother Binoy Gomes, CSC, says: “He was a man of work
and prayer. He wanted to work up to the last day of his life. At times, I had a
hard time to find work for him! I rarely saw him missing morning and evening
prayers and Mass as well as mediation. He was a role for all of us.”
Ajmal Sobhan
writes: “Brother Donald is an example of a man who has given everything in life
for the poor in Bangladesh. He had no material desire and he was a compassionate
and kind-hearted individual. At the same time, he was not critical of people
who lived a life of conspicuous consumption. If anyone could come close to
Mohandas Gandhi [Mahatma Gandhi] in principles and daily living, it would be
Brother Donald.”
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