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Catholic Church in Bangladesh

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Catholic Church in Bangladesh

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. As of 2006, there are approximately 350,000, approximately 0.2 percent of the population of Bangladesh. About 60% of Catholics come from "tribals", members of minority tribes.

Contents

As of 2017, the country is made up of eight dioceses including two archdioceses. There is one cardinal in Bangladesh, Patrick D'Rozario, the country's first ever cardinal.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, founded in 1971, is the General Body of the Ordinaries of Bangladesh. The purpose of this Conference is to facilitate common policy and action in matters that affect or are liable to affect the interest of the Catholic Church in Bangladesh and to be of service to the country at large. Pope John Paul II visited Dhaka in November 1986.

Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, and religious violence is rare, but one incident of violence against Christians was a bomb attack on a Catholic church in 2001.

In 1598, the first priest arrived in Bangladesh accompanying the Portuguese.

In 2017, Pope Francis will visit Bangladesh.

Organisation

There are a total of 14 bishops in Bangladesh; 20 more have died. As head of the Archdiocese of Dhaka, Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, CSC is the highest-ranked bishop in the country.

The Apostolic Nuncio, or papal ambassador, normally a Titular Archbishop, heads the Apostolic Nunciature (the Vatican's embassy), to Bangladesh. Since his appointment by Pope Francis on 6 July 2013, Archbishop George Kocherry has been the Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh.

Metropolitan Province of Dhaka

Dioceses in Bangladesh:

  • Archdiocese of Dhaka
  • Diocese of Dinajpur
  • Diocese of Mymensingh
  • Diocese of Rajshahi
  • Diocese of Sylhet
  • Archdiocese of Chittagong
  • Diocese of Barisal
  • Diocese of Khulna
  • References

    Catholic Church in Bangladesh Wikipedia