Veteran Italian missionary in Bangladesh remembered

On May 26, Xaverian priests and others in Bangladesh held a memorial Mass for the late Father Attilio Boscato, an Italian Xaverian missionary, who served 48 years in Khulna and Mymensingh dioceses.
 
Father Boscato died on April 17, 2022, the solemn day of Christ's Resurrection, in Bangladesh, in the land he loved so much. He was 78.
 
For several days, he had been in hospital for lower back pain and breathing difficulties.  
 
Oblate Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka offered the Mass.
 
Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, Bishop James Romen Boiragi of Khulna, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Theotonius Gomes of Dhaka, and 150 priests, brothers, nuns and lay people attended the Mass at St. Christina Church at 6 in the evening.
 
Xaverian Father Polash Henry Gomes briefly shared Father Boscato’s life and missionary work in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country, where Christians are a minority.
 
In the end, Archbishop Bijoy thanked Boscato and appreciated his contribution to the mission in Bangladesh.
 
The life and legacy of Boscato and his missionary work continue to inspire all, Bijoy said. 

Father Boscato was born on August 30, 1943 in Montecchio Precalcino (Vicenza), Italy.
 
He entered the Institute at the age of 13 in Vicenza in 1956. He did his Novitiate at San Pietro in Vincoli (1960) and in Parma, he made his first religious and missionary profession on October 3, 1961. 
 
During his theological training in Parma, he served as Prefect in the Apostolic School of Udine (1965-1966). 
 
In Parma, he did his Perpetual Profession on September 12, 1967. He was ordained a priest in the cathedral of Vicenza on October 12, 1969. Immediately after his ordination, he was sent to Zaragoza (Spain). There, after the period of studying Spanish, he was engaged in Vocation Promotion (1970-1972).
 
In 1973, he was sent to Bangladesh. He first spent a year in London the study English and then arrived at Boyra (Khulna-Bangladesh) the study the Bengali language. 
 
He was an assistant pastor (1974-1976) and pastor (1976-1983) in Shimulia. Meanwhile, he was also a regional councilor. 
 
After a year of updating in Italy, and after having spent seven months of preparation in Manila, at the Jesuit-run East Asian Pastoral Institute, he returned to Bangladesh, in Jessore, in the Catechetical Center as a teacher (1984-1990). 
 
From 1990 to 1992, he was in Dhaka, in the Vocation Training and Promotion Center, mainly engaged in the ministry.
 
From 1993 to 1996, he worked in the Diocese of Mymensingh (cathedral). From 1996 to 2003, he was in Dhaka (Reception House) where he was also rector (1996-2001). 
 
After a period of updating, where he had a three-month ongoing training in Tavernerio (2003-2004), he returned to Bangladesh, for a few months to Khulna and then to Mymensingh (2004-2019) as a person in charge of social activities and ministerial commitment. 
 
Since 2019, he was in Dhaka (Xaverian House) engaged in the ministry. - Mary Anna Gomes, RVA Bangla Service