Born in Rajshahi 59 years ago, he was appointed by Pope Francis to lead the youngest diocese in Bangladesh. He told the faithful: “I come to a reality that is new to me: I want to listen to you and take care of you.”
Barishal () – In the diocese of Barishal, the consecration of the new Bishop Emmanuel K. Rozario, appointed by Pope Francis on June 21, took place. The ceremony took place at the Udayan Secondary School in Barishal and was presided over by Archbishop Bejoy N D’Cruze, Archbishop of Dhaka and President of the Episcopal Conference of Bangladesh. The nine Catholic bishops of the country, 300 priests, 200 men and women religious, and more than 4,000 faithful were present.
In the homily of the Mass, Msgr. Gervas Rozario – bishop of Rajshahi, the home diocese of Msgr. Emmanuel K. Rozario – said to the new bishop: “God has called you to be bishop of the diocese of Barishal: you have the responsibility to teach God’s message and serve the faithful. You are called to be the representative of Jesus Christ: you must have a tender heart.”
Monsignor Emmanuel Rozario is the second bishop of Barishal, a young Bangladeshi diocese created by Pope Francis in 2015 that currently has about 18,500 faithful. He collects the legacy of Bishop Lawrence Subrato Howlader, religious of the Holy Cross, who was appointed Archbishop of Chattogram on February 19 last. Monsignor Rozario was born on February 8, 1963 in the village of Deirpara, Rajshahi diocese. He is the fifth of six brothers and two sisters. He was ordained a priest in 1993 after studying at the Urbaniana University in Rome, worked in the parishes of Bonpara, Borni and Kolimnagar and then served for 11 years at the Holy Spirit Major Seminary in Dhaka, of which he was rector.
“Being elected as bishop of Barishal – said Msgr. Emmanuel Rozario at the ceremony – for me is a call to leave my land. In the Bible, Abraham was called by God to go to another country and in the same way I left my Rajshahi diocese to come here, where he had never worked. The first thing I will do is listen to the faithful and take care of them”.
On behalf of local Catholics, Poddar Golder, a member of the Narikslbari parish, told : “I hope that the new Bishop Emmanuel will take care of us. He will often visit all the parishes. He will be kind to us and he will make the parishes grow. I will certainly pray for him.”
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