First seminary to open in Sylhet diocese to spread Christ’s teachings among tribal people
The St John Minor Seminary will host up to 60 seminarians, welcoming 15 new students every year. About 98 per cent of Catholics are indigenous. Previously, seminarians travelled to Dhaka, 300 km away, to study.
Moulvibazar (AsiaNews) – Catholics in Sylhet, north-eastern Bangladesh, celebrated the opening of the first seminary in their diocese.
Funded by a Korean diocese, the St John Minor Seminary has a capacity of 60 seminarians. At present, 22 young men are studying at the facility with the aspiration of spreading the Christian message around the country and the world.
The local bishop, Mgr Bijoy D'Cruze, told AsiaNews that the region is mostly tribal. "For the seminarians, it will be a great opportunity to preach the Gospel in this hilly area where tribal people live," he said.
The inauguration ceremony took place last Friday (12 January) in Diajnagor, Moulvibazar District, in the presence of the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop George Kocherry. About 550 Catholics participated, including Mgr D'Cruze, 22 priests and 30 nuns.
For the mostly Muslim country, the opening of a new seminar is a major event. It shows that vocations are on the rise in Bangladesh, bucking the trend in the West where the priestly calling is on the decline.
"Previously our young people went to the minor seminary in Bandhura (Dhaka), about 300 km away,” said Fr Lawrence Toppo, the rector of the St John Minor Seminary.
“We could only send five young people, but now we can accommodate up to 15 young men every year. In the future we will have more priests who will work to preach the divine message."
"About 98 per cent of Catholics in the diocese are of tribal origin and live in conditions of extreme need,” Mgr D'Cruze told AsiaNews.
“It is difficult for tribal people to survive in Dhaka because they have their own culture and language. Furthermore, Sylhet is located a long distance from the capital.”
"Many parents do not have the money to send their children to school. Now it will be easier for them to attend the seminary, and once a month, relatives will be able to visit them.” The students “will be able to stay in touch with their families.
The bishop noted that the school was made possible by the financial help from the Diocese of Suwon (South Korea), the Vatican Office and local donations. “I hope the seminary will have a great impact," he said.
Some 16 priests and 30 nuns work in the diocese. The first Catholics who arrived here about 60 years were the Oblate missionaries of Mary Immaculate (OMI). Today there are more than 19,000 Catholics.
For Fr Toppo, the seminary "will have the task of taking care of the religious vocations of the diocese".
The school will be "the heart of a diocese. Here young people can come to prepare themselves to work for God," Mgr D'Cruze added. The diocese was founded in 2011.
"When we started we received the papal mandate to build our seminary,” the prelate said. “Today (12 January) we’ve made it. It will work as the power house of the diocese. Thanks to its activity, the local Church will provide more priests."
Bangladesh has some 51 Catholic facilities, including seminaries, novitiates and houses for religious training.
The Catholic Church has a cardinal (the archbishop Dhaka Patrick D'Rozario), more than 300 priests and more than 1,100 nuns.
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