Natore: a new priest and two nuns in the same family

Deacon Uzzal Reberio was ordained a priest. His two older sisters had joined the religious congregation in 2020 and 2012. Mgr Gervas Rozario, Bishop of Rajshahi and vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh: "I am very happy because I too am a son of the parish of Bonpara".

Natore (AsiaNews) - On November 18, the bishop of the Rajshahi diocese, Gervas Rozario, ordained Deacon Uzzal Reberio a priest in the parish of Bonpara in Natore, where there were 50 priests, 60 nuns and more than 2,000 Catholic faithful. A normal ordination, were it not that Fr Uzzal's older sisters have also dedicated themselves to the consecrated life.

"As a child I became an altar boy and even then I had the desire to become a priest. Then I saw the holy lives of some religious who inspired me".

The elder sisters, Chondona and Hira, took their vows in 2012 and 2020, joining the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows. 

Their father, Bejoy Reberio, who worked as a shopkeeper, was widowed in 1990 and remarried in 1991. From that union Fr Uzzal was born, while the sisters are daughters of his first wife. But the Reberio family has always been very close, even after the death of their father in 2016. "Our father always showed us his love and raised us in unity. He led a spiritual life and in the evenings we prayed the rosary together," Fr Uzzal recounted.

"My heart is full of joy at my brother's ordination," Sr Chondona, 10 years older than Fr Uzzal, told AsiaNews. "This shows that sacrifices are never in vain. When we lost our father we were worried, but the parishioners, our priest and our relatives actively participated in our brother's ordination, which turned out well'.

Asked what motivated them, in this modern era, to consecrate themselves to religious life, Sr Chondona said: "Our house is close to the church in Bonpara. We always met many priests and nuns who also came to visit us at home. I was educated in a missionary college and after seeing the sisters' testimony of life, I also wanted to give my testimony of Jesus Christ". 

Hira, the youngest sister, aged 34, also joined the congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows. "She works in Rajshahi as a teaching assistant while I am in Dhaka in our school as headmistress and superior," Sr Chondona continued. "We need the prayers and support of all people so that we can maintain the spirit of our religious life." 

Bishop Gervas Rozario, bishop of Rajshahi and vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, said: "I am very happy about Fr Uzzal's arrival as a priest because I too am a son of Bonpara parish". The bishop thanked Fr Uzzal's family who helped him receive the training to become a priest.