New Parish established in Rural area of Bangladesh

The Diocese of Rajshahi established a new parish in a remote area at Bhutahara in the northern part of the country on the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1.

Approximately 1,000 people from various villages participated in the inauguration of the parish with Bishop Gervas Rozario of the Rajshahi, 17 priests, and six nuns.

In addition to inaugurating and blessing the new priest's residence and Church, the bishop confirmed 109 children for the sacrament of confirmation. 

On occasion, Bishop Rozario stated, "Through this Eucharist celebration and blessing ritual, Bhutahara will be a full parish. We are overjoyed; this is truly a God-blessed day."

The Bishop reminded the people who come to the church as God’s temple to praise God, listen to His Words, and obey His instructions.

"Now that the new Church is built, the word of God or Jesus will be preached to us; we will be told to listen to the Word and live according to it," said Bishop Rosario.

Father Sushil Louis Pereira, Parish priest of New Church, thanked the Bishop’s willingness to bless the new parish Church while recalling the former parish priest, the late Father Emilio Spinelli, who labored tirelessly and rendered pastoral ministry for the last 13 years to develop our parish.

"The church has become a house of God; it is a sign of the maturity of our responsibility. We're taking on the responsibility and will do what we need to fulfill it," said Father Pereira.

Catechist Master Noren Murmu said, "We all are delighted to have Bhutahara mission as a full-fledged religious village. I think this is excellent news for all our Missionaries. We have been waiting for this day for a long time."

"I pray to God that our haunted parish may become more active and prosperous in the future," said Master Noren.

Lobin Ekka, a young woman, said, "Today, we youths are delighted that we have found Bhutahara parish. We also got a new priest’s building and a new Church. I hope our responsibility is to take care of this parish by actively participating in our Church activities."

"On this special day, I want to say to my young friends of this parish, let us walk together and build a harmonious society and strive to make Bhutahara parish a vibrant and active participating Church," said Ekka.

Saint Joseph's Catholic Church Sub-Parish was founded in 2007. On May 1, the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, 16 years later, the Bishop proclaimed it a Parish Church. This parish has approximately 3,500 members.