Christianity

Christianity arrived in what is now Bangladesh during the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century AD, through the Portuguese traders and missionaries. Christians account for approximately 0.3% of the total population.

Christianity's first contact with the Indian subcontinent is attributed to St. Thomas(Born in 1st century AD, Galilee and 21 December, 72AD Mylapore, India and 3rd July Feast Day) the Apostle, who is said to have preached in Kerala. Although Jesuit priests were active at the Mughal courts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the first Roman Catholic settlements in Bangladesh appear to have been established by the Portuguese, coming from their center in Goa on the west coast of India. During the sixteenth century the Portuguese settled in the vicinity of Chittagong, where they were active in piracy and slavery. In the seventeenth century some Portuguese moved to Dhaka.

Serious Protestant missionary efforts began only in the first half of the nineteenth century. Baptist missionary activities beginning in 1816, the Anglican Oxford Mission, and others worked mainly among the tribal peoples of the Low Hills in the northern parts of Mymensingh and Sylhet. Many of the Christian churches, schools, and hospitals were initially set up to serve the European community. They subsequently became centers of missionary activities, particularly among the lower caste Hindus.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs provided assistance and support to the Christian institutions in the country. In the late 1980s, the government was not imposing any restrictions on the legitimate religious activities of the missions and the communities. Mission schools and hospitals were well attended and were used by members of all religions. The Christian community usually enjoyed better opportunities for education and a better standard of living. In the late 1980s, Christianity had about 600,000 adherents, mainly Roman Catholic, and their numbers were growing rapidly.

Early history

St. Thomas, Apostle: He is traditionally believed to have sailed to India in 52AD to spread the Christian faith among the Jews, the Jewish diaspora present in Kerala at the time. He is supposed to have landed at the ancient port of Muziris (which became extinct in 1341 AD due to a massive flood which realigned the coasts) near Kodungalloor. He then went to Palayoor (near present-day Guruvayoor), which was a Hindu priestly community at that time. He left Palayoor in AD 52 for the southern part of what is now Kerala State, where he established the Ezharappallikal, or "Seven and Half Churches". These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam (Niranam St.Marys Orthodox Church, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithancode Arappally – the half church.

"It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India." – Hymns of St. Ephraem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV).

Eusebius of Caesarea quotes Origen (died mid-3rd century) as having stated that Thomas was the apostle to the Parthians, but Thomas is better known as the missionary to India through the Acts of Thomas, perhaps written as late as ca 200. In Edessa, where his remains were venerated, the poet Ephrem the Syrian (died 373) wrote a hymn in which the Devil cries,

...Into what land shall I fly from the just?

I stirred up Death the Apostles to slay, that by their death I might escape their blows.

But harder still am I now stricken: the Apostle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa; here and there he is all himself.

There went I, and there was he: here and there to my grief I find him. —quoted in Medlycott 1905, ch. ii.

St. Ephraem, the great doctor of the Syrian Church, writes in the forty-second of his "Carmina Nisibina" that the Apostle was put to death in India, and that his remains were subsequently buried in Edessa, brought there by an unnamed merchant.

A Syrian ecclesiastical calendar of an early date confirms the above and gives the merchant a name. The entry reads: "3 July, St. Thomas who was pierced with a lance in India. His body is at Urhai [the ancient name of Edessa] having been brought there by the merchant Khabin. A great festival." It is only natural to expect that we should receive from Edessa first-hand evidence of the removal of the relics to that city; and we are not disappointed, for St. Ephraem, the great doctor of the Syrian Church, has left us ample details in his writings.

A long public tradition in the church at Edessa honoring Thomas as the Apostle of India resulted in several surviving hymns that are attributed to Ephrem, copied in codices of the 8th and 9th centuries. References in the hymns preserve the tradition that Thomas' bones were brought from India to Edessa by a merchant, and that the relics worked miracles both in India and at Edessa. A pontiff assigned his feast day and a king and a queen erected his shrine. The Thomas traditions became embodied in Syriac liturgy, thus they were universally credited by the Christian community there. There is also a legend that Thomas had met the Biblical Magi on his way to India.

According to Eusebius' record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and India. The Didascalia (dating from the end of the 3rd century) states, “India and all countries condering it, even to the farthest seas...received the apostolic ordinances from Judas Thomas, who was a guide and ruler in the church which he built.”Moreover, there is a wealth of confirmatory information in the Syriac writings, liturgical books, and calendars of the Church of the East, not to mention the writings of the Fathers, the calendars, the sacramentaries, and the martyrologies of the Roman, Greek and Ethiopian churches. Since trade routes from the East were wide open at the time and were used by early missionaries, there are no circumstantial reasons why Thomas could not have visited India in the 1st century. And his visit is the most plausible explanation for the early appearance of the church there.

An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the apostle's Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission, but the Lord appeared to him in a night vision and said, “Fear not, Thomas. Go away to India and proclaim the Word, for my grace shall be with you. ”But the Apostle still demurred, so the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. The apostle's ministry resulted in many conversions throughout the kingdom, including the king and his brother.

Coin of Gondophares IV Sases (mid-1st century)

Critical historians treated this legend as an idle tale and denied the historicity of King Gundaphorus until modern archeology established him as an important figure in North India in the latter half of the 1st century. Many coins of his reign have turned up in Afghanistan, the Punjab, and the Indus Valley. Remains of some of his buildings, influenced by Greek architecture, indicate that he was a great builder. Interestingly enough, according to the legend, Thomas was a skilled carpenter and was bidden to build a palace for the king. However, the Apostle decided to teach the king a lesson by devoting the royal grant to acts of charity and thereby laying up treasure for the heavenly abode. Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan (154–223) reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India which claimed to have been converted by Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it. But at least by the year of the establishment of the Second Persian Empire (226), there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.

The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the rulers of a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. It is most significant that, aside from a small remnant of the Church of the East in Kurdistan, the only other church to maintain a distinctive identity is the Mar Thoma or “Church of Thomas” congregations along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest India. According to the most ancient tradition of this church, Thomas evangelized this area and then crossed to the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, where, after carrying out a second mission, he died near Madras. Throughout the period under review, the church in India was under the jurisdiction of Edessa, which was then under the Mesopotamian patriarchate at Seleucia-Ctesiphon and later at Baghdad and Mosul. Historian Vincent A. Smith says, “It must be admitted that a personal visit of the Apostle Thomas to South India was easily feasible in the traditional belief that he came by way of Socotra, where an ancient Christian settlement undoubtedly existed. I am now satisfied that the Christian church of South India is extremely ancient... ”.

St. Thome Basilica, Channai, Tamil Nadu, India

Although there was a lively trade between the Near East and India via Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, the most direct route to India in the 1st century was via Alexandria and the Red Sea, taking advantage of the Monsoon winds, which could carry ships directly to and from the Malabar coast. The discovery of large hoards of Roman coins of 1st-century Caesars and the remains of Roman trading posts testify to the frequency of that trade. In addition, thriving Jewish colonies were to be found at the various trading centers, thereby furnishing obvious bases for the apostolic witness.

Piecing together the various traditions, one may conclude that Thomas left northwest India when invasion threatened and traveled by vessel to the Malabar coast, possibly visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra enroute and landing at the former flourishing port of Muziris on an island near Cochin (c. AD. 51–52). From there he is said to have preached the gospel throughout the Malabar coast, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish colonies. He reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. Later, stone crosses were erected at the places where churches were founded, and they became pilgrimage centres. In accordance with apostolic custom, Thomas ordained teachers and leaders or elders, who were reported to be the earliest ministry of the Malabar church.

On 27 September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI recalled that "an ancient tradition claims that Thomas first evangelized Syria and Persia (mentioned by Origen, according to Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 3, 1) then went on to Western India (cf. Acts of Thomas 1–2 and 17ff.), from where also he finally reached Southern India." In 1972, to commemorate the nineteenth centenary of the martyrdom, the Government of India Department of Post and Telegraphs released a postage stamp depicting the picture of the bleeding cross of St. Thomas Mount.
 

St. Francis CSI Church, in Kochi. Vasco da Gama, died in Kochi in 1524 when he was on his third visit to India. His body was originally buried in this church.

Vasco Da Gama: Renowned Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope of South Africa in 1498 and landed at Calicut (present Kozikode of India) by discovering the sea-route to India. From 1500 onwards, the Portuguese established their power first in Cranganore, then to Cochin and Goa. With these traders and commercial opportunists, also came Franciscan, Dominican, Augustinian, and Jesuit missionaries to bring Indians to Christianity. From 1517 onwards, Portuguese traders from Goa were traversing the sea-route to Bengal but were not successful in establishing trading posts in this part of India. Only in 1537 were they allowed to settle and open customs houses at Satgaon (near Hooghly) in West Bengal and Chittagong. In 1577, Mughal emperor Akbar permitted the Portuguese to build permanent settlements and churches in Bengal. After the Portuguese intermarried with local women or converted native Bengali people, their descendants became the first generation of indigenous Christians in Bangladesh. Additional locals converted to Christianity from Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Timeline of Christianity

In the 16th century, Portuguese traders brought Christianity to Bangladesh through the port of Chittagong, called the Porto Grande or the Great Port. The first church in Bangladesh was built in 1599 at Chandecan (also called Iswaripur or old Jessore) near Kaliganj in the Sundarbans of present Satkhira district.

1599: Father Francisco Fernandez went to Chandecan in October, and with permission of Maharaja Pratapaditya built a church and a rectory there. This new church, called the "Holy Name of Jesus", was officially dedicated on January 1, 1600, when the King himself was present at the ceremony.

1600: The second church, called "Calvery United Methodist" was built in Chittagong on June 24 by Fathers Francisco Fernandez and Andre Boves with financial assistance from the King of Arakan.

1601: At the invitation of Portuguese merchants, Dominican Fathers Gaspar da Assumpsao and Melchior da Luz went to Diang (Dianga), south-east of Chittagong on the Karnaphuli River, and built the third church (chapel) there. When the Arakanese attacked, the chapel was burnt down and missionaries were manhandled, after which the Dominicans left.

1602: Francisco Fernandez tried to save some Portuguese children from the Arakanese who had made them slaves. The Arakanese were so enraged that they captured Fernandez, beat him and placed him in chains in a dark prison. He died there on November 14, 1602 becoming the first Christian martyr in the territory comprising present Bangladesh.

1608: Islam Khan, the Mughal Subedar of Bengal, made Dhaka—previously a mere military outpost—the capital of Bengal. This was followed by progress and prosperity in business attracting Portuguese, Dutch, French and English merchants.

1612: Portuguese Augustinian missionaries introduced Christianity in Dhaka.

1628: The same missionaries established a church, called the "Church of the Assumption", in the Narinda area of the city.

1677: “Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Tejgaon, Dhaka”. It has been also mentioned as ‘The Church of Queen Jopmala’ in some historical documents. The church was built by The Portuguese Augustinian Missionaries. There are debates about the building time of this church. There is an inscription in the church which holds a date (1677 AD)in Arabic numerals.  That’s why some researchers say, the building time of this church is  1677 AD. A new church was built beside the original one in 1993.

1695: The church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino was constructed at Nagori, 25 kilometres north-east of Dhaka Centre.

1764: Portuguese missionaries built a church at Padrishibpur in Barisal district.

1777: Another Portuguese church was built at Hashnabad, Nobabgonj, Dhaka 30 kilometres south-west of Dhaka Centre, in 1777.

Roman Catholics

In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bangladesh. As the Bangladeshi Muslims have Arabic and Persian surnames, so do the Portuguese-converted Catholics or Catholics of Portuguese blood have Portuguese surnames, such as Gomes, Rozario, D'Costa, Purification, Gonsalvez, Cruze, Daes, D’Silva, D’Souza etc. To recognize Catholics by names, the missionaries used to give one Christian name and one of their surnames to the newly-baptized person. The later Catholic missionaries from France, USA, Canada, and Italy did not follow the Portuguese in naming the new Christians. They gave one Christian name but did not change the surname of the newly converted. Presently, the Catholic Church has six dioceses—Dhaka, Chittagong, Dinajpur, Khulna, Mymensingh, and Rajshahi—with a Catholic population of about 221,000, more than 70 parish churches, 200 priests, 50 brothers, 700 nuns, 1,000 catechists, and many educational, healthcare, and welfare institutions & organizations etc.

Protestants

William Carey was a Protestant missionary who arrived at Serampore in West Bengal in 1793. This Englishman heralded the new missionary era in Bengal. Many Protestant organizations have since established themselves in the country:

•           1793: Baptist Missionary Society (British)

•           1805: Church Missionary Society (British)

•           1862: Council for World Mission (British Presbyterian)

•           1882: Australian Baptist Mission

•           1886: New Zealand Baptist Mission

•           1895: Oxford Mission (British Anglican)

•           1905: Churches of God (American)

•           1919: Seventh-day Adventists

•           1945: Assemblies of God

•           1956: Santal Mission (Lutheran)

•           1957: Bangladesh Mission of the Southern Baptist Convention American

•           1958: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (American)

After the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, there was a new influx of Protestant missionary societies into Bangladesh. Besides evangelism, these societies have also established and run various educational, healthcare, and welfare institutions. At present, the number of Protestants in Bangladesh is estimated to be around 150,000.

Contributions

Christians contributed immensely in the field of Bengali literature. Portuguese missionary Fr. Manuel da Assumpsao wrote Kripar Shastrer Orthobhed, which was printed in 1743 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Roman alphabet. It was a catechism in the question-answer form. He also wrote a 40-page Bengali grammar book and a 529-page Bengali-Portuguese and Portuguese-Bengali dictionary, called Vocabulario em Idioma Bengulla-e-Portuguez, divided em duas Partes. Dom Antonio da Rozario, a local Hindu jomidar (squire) converted by the Portuguese, was successful in making mass conversions (20,000 to 30,000) among low-caste Hindus in the region north of Dhaka. He wrote Brahman-Roman Catholic Sambad, where a Roman Catholic dialogues with a Hindu Brahmin and attempts to show the superiority of Christianity over Hinduism.

William Carey translated and printed the Bible in Bengali, as well as writing many other books and a dictionary, called A Dictionary of the Bengali Language. He also helped develop Bengali type faces for printing and established Serampore Mission and College in addition to publishing newspapers and periodicals. His colleagues Dr. John Thomas, William Ward, Felix Carey (his son), John Pearson, and others also left their contributions in Bengali literature. Carey also developed the Bengal school system. Recently, two Catholic Italian Xaverian missionaries— Fathers Marino Rigon and Silvano Garello— have been translating many works of 1913 Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin and others into Italian. Their books have created an increasing interest of the Italians for Bengali literature and Bangladesh.

The Churches in Bangladesh have worked in the fields of merciful activities such as education and medicare for all mainly the poor, underprivileged, and helpless.

After the Bangladesh Liberation War, the missionaries sent by Mother Teresa were the first organizations to enter Bangladesh after 1971 to help the victims. Many of these missionaries have established offices in Bangladesh and still operate independently. These missionaries along with many other contribute actively during flood and various cyclones in the coastal region.

Parish list of Bangladesh

Luxmibazar Parish:
Name : Holy Cross Church (1868)
Address: Catholic Church , Luxmibazar
82,Municipal Office St,
Laxmibazar, Dhaka-1100.
Phone : +88027111281
Mobile : +8801715071972
Parish Priest : Fr. Edmond Cruze ,CSC
Catholics : 1267

Tejgaon Parish:
Name : Holy Rossary Church (1677)
Address: Catholic Church ,Tejgaon,
P.O: Tejgoan , Dhaka-1215.
Phone : +88028142093
Parish Priest : Fr. Proshanto T. Rebeiro
Asst. Priest : Fr.Ignatius Parimal Rozario
Fr. Patrick Simon Gomes
Catholics : 13,210
(Including Nayanagar, Banani and Mahakhali )

Banani:
(Under Tejgaon Parish , Chaplaincy by Major Seminary Fathers)
Name : Holy spirit Seminary chapel (1976)
Address: Block –A-112, Road-27
Bannai , Dhaka-1213.
Phone : +88028821536/9881632

Nayanagar :
( Under Tejgoan Parish , Chaplaincy By OMI Fathers )
Name : De Mazenod Church (1982)
Address: C/O Oblate Fathers
Po Box No: 6108
Nayanagar, Gulshan , Dhaka -1212.
Phone : +88028822111

Mahakhali :
(Under Tejgaon Parish )
Name : Our Lady of Lourdes Church (1985)
Address: 118/6 , South Mahakhali , Christian Para,
Dhaka-1212.

Kafrul Sub –Parish :
Name : St. Lawrence Church
Address: Catholic Church , Kafrul
377, South Kafrul ,
Dhaka Cantonment , Dhaka-1206.
Catholics : 876
Phone : +88028754973
Mobile : +8801715067057
Priest In Charge : Fr. Ignatius Sushanto Gomes , SJ

Mohammedpur Parish :
Name : St. Christina’s Church (1990)
Address: Catholic Church , Mohammadpur
92 Asad Avenue , Dhaka -1207.
Phone : +88028114134
Email: Christ@bdcom.com
Parish Priest : Fr. Tapan De Rozario
Catholic : 1,650

Uthali :
Address: Catholic Church Uthali
Vill& Po : Uthali
Dist: Manikganj
Catholics : 600

Mirpur Parish :
Name : Mary Queen Of Apostels Church (2007)
Address: 6/2 Borobag , Mirpur -2, Dhaka-1216.
Phone : +88028016068
Priest In Charge : Fr. Gianpaolo Gualzetti, PIME
Asst. Priest : Fr. Paolo Ballan , PIME
Catholics : 842( Including EPZ ,Savar)

Kewachala Sub- Center :
Name : St. Augustine Church
Address: Vill: Kewachala,
P.O: Kewa Bazar
Dist: Gazipur
Phone: +8801715064582
Priest In Charge : Fr. Gian Antonia Baio , PIME
Catholics : 500( Including sub-center Shimulia)

Faucal/Joydevpur:
Name : St.Therese Of Child Jesus (1972)
Address: Catholic Church Faucal
Vill-Faucal,P.O:B.O.F
Dist: Gazipur .
Priest In Charge : Fr. Dominic Sentu Rozario
Asst: Fr. Xavier Purification
Catholics : 1,600( Including Sub-centers Konabari and Kalampur )

Narayngaj Parish:
Name : St. Paul’s Church (1952)
Address: Cathoic Church , Narayanganj
135 Bangabandhu Road,
Dist; Naraynganj-1400
Priest In Charge : Fr. Edmund Cruze , CSC
Catholics : 200

Rangamatia Parish :
Name: Sacred Heart Church (1924)
Address: Catholic Church , Rangamatia
P.O: Rangamatia , Dist: Gazipur-1720.
Parish Priest : Fr. Amal Christopher D’ Cruze
Phone : +8806823-51733,+8801715024132
Catholics : 3,830

Toomilia Parish :
Name : St.John the Baptist Church (1844)
Address: Catholic Church , Toomilia
P.O : Kaliganj,Dist: Gazipur-1720.
Phone :+8806823-51458
Parish Priest : Fr. Abel Ballistine Rozario
Asst. Priest : Fr,Jacob Swapan Gomes
Fr.Shitlo Theotonius costa
Catholics : 8,117

Daripara Sub-Parish :
Name : Church Of Holy Family
Address: Vill: Daripara, P.O: Kaliganj
Dist: Gazipur-1720.
Nagari Parish:
Name: St.Nicholas of Tolentino Church (1695)
Address: Catholic Church , Nagari
P.O:Nagari , Dist.Gazipur -1463
Phone:+8806823-51954-6
Parish Priest : Fr.David Shymal Gomes
Asst. Priest : Fr.Maxwell A. Thomas
Catholics : 7,612

Mathbari Parish :
Name : St. Augustine of Hippo Church (1925)
Address: Catholic Church , Mathbari
P.O: Ulukhola, Dist: Gazipur -1463
Phone :+8801720958311
Parish Priest: Fr.Elias Palma , CSC
Catholics :3,012

Mausaid Parish :
Name : St. Agustine of Canterbury Church (1893)
Address: Catholic church , Mausaid
P.O: Uzampur , Uttara, Dhaka*1230.
Phone : +8801199093336
Parish Priest : Fr. Leonard P. Rozario
Asst.Priest: Fr. Agustine Bulbul Rebeiro
Catholics : 3,010(Inculding Bhadun, Pagar, Harbaid and Rajabari)

Bhadun Sub Center :
Name: Fatima Rani Church
Address: Catholic Church , Bhadun
P.O: Pubail,Dist: Gazipur -1720.

Pagar Sub-Center :
Name : Christ the king church
Address: vill:Pagar , P.O: Tongi , Dist: Gazipur.
Harabid Sub-center:
Name: Our Lady of Lourdes Church
Vill: Harbaid , P.O : Harbaid,
Dist: Gazipur .
Rajabari Sub-Center :
Name: St. Anne’s Church
Address: Rajabari, Uttara, Dist.Dhaka-1230.

Dharenda Parish :
Name : St. Joseph Church 91926)
Address: Catholic Church , Dharenda,
Vill: Dharenda, P.O: Savar , Dist: Dhaka-1340.
Phone : +88027713003
Parish Priest : Fr.Mitu Lawrence Palma
Asst. Priest : Fr, Milton D. Corraya
Catholics : 5,103

Solepur Parish :
Name : St. Joseph Church (1850)
Address: Catholic church , solepur
P.O: Hashara , Dit.Munshiganj-1553.
Phone :+8801712181341
Parish Priest : Fr. Bimal Francis Gomes
Catholic :3000

Golla Parish :
Name : St. Francis Xavier’s Church (1844)
Address: Catholic church , Golla
P.O: Gobindepur , Dhaka*-1320.
Phone : +8801715022050
Parish Priest : Fr. A . Jyoti Gomes
Asst. Priest : Fr. Thomas Corrya
Catholics : 3,710(Including Bakshanagar )

Bakshanagar Sub- Center :
Name : St. Anthony of Padua Church (1860)
Address: Catholic church , Bakshanagar,
P.O: Choto Bakshanagar ,
Dist: Dhaka-1320.

Hashnabad Parish:
Name : Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church (1777)
Address: Catholic Church , Hashnabad
P.O: Hashnabad , Dhaka-1321
Phone :+8801715041478
Parish Priest : +8801715041478
Catholics : 2,596

Tuital Parish :
Name : Holy Spirit Church (1914)
Address: Catholci Church , Tuital
P.O: Daudpur
Dist.Dhaka-1322.
Phone: +8801715107478
Parish Priest : Fr. Shyamal Lwarence Rego
Catholics :1,978(Inculding Sunabaju)

Sunabanu Sub-Center :
Name : Fatima Rani Church(1924)
Address: Catholic Church , Sunabaju
P.O: Joyjrishanpur ,Dist: Dhaka-1322.

Sylhet Parish:
Name : De mazendo Church (1975)
Address: Catholic church , Sylhet
Vill: Bahubal , P.O : Khadim Nagar
Dist: Sylhet -3103,PO Box:80, Sylhet-3100.
Phone : +880821-761309
Parish Priest : Fr. Emil Moraes , OMI
Asst Priest : Fr. Tapan Halsona , OMI
Catholics : 1,275

Synrem / Jafflong Sub-Center :
Name : St. Patricks Church (2002)
C/o Oblate Fathers ,Po Box:80, Sylhet -3100.
Priest In Charge : Fr. Ranjit Costa , OMI

Srimangal Parish :
Name : St. Joseph Church (1950)
Address: Catholic Church , Srimangal
PO,Srimangal , Box : 4
Dist: Moulovibazar-3210.
Phone : +8808626-347
Parish Priest : Fr. Atul M. Palma , CSC
Asst Priest : Fr. Michael Collins Sarker , CSC
Fr. Amal Augustine Rozario , CSC
Catholics : 9,193

Mugaipar Parish :
Name : St. Thomas Church (1951)
Address: Catholic Church , Mugaipar .Po: Narayantola ,
Dist : Sunamgonj-3000,
Parish Priest: Fr. Kajol Linus Gomes ,OMI
Asst.Priest : Fr. Robi Robert Rozario ,OMI
Fr. Domanuc Rozario ,OMI
Catholics : 1,105

Lakshipur Parish :
Name : I mmaculate Conception Church (1985)
Address: Catholci Church , Lakshipur
Vill: Lakshipur , P.O Kulaura ,
Dist: Moulovibazar -3230.
Parish Priest : Fr. Dilip Sarker ,OMI
Asst . Priest : Fr, Dipok Costa , OMI
Fr. Somor Dango, OMI
Fr. Sudhir Jacob Gomes , OMI
Catholics : 2,650

Prominent Bangladeshi Christians

Though small in number, Bangladeshi Christians have made a significant contribution to Bangladesh since independence in 1971.

Poulinus Costa, Archbishop of Bangladesh, Patrick D'Rozario, next Archbishop of Bangladesh

Michael Rozario, former Archbishop of Bangladesh

The music director Samar Das, led the creation of the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra ("Free Bengal Radio") during the Bangladesh Liberation War and orchestrated and notated the National Anthem of the new country, Tagore's "Amar Sonar Bangla", enabling it to be recorded and played by orchestras around the world.

Barrister Cyril Shikder was a former ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal.

Michael Madhusudan Dutt, (1824–1873), born Modhushudon Dotto, was a famous 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in the village Shaagordaari, Jessore District. Modhushudon was known as the father of the Bangla Sonnet. Modhushudon converted to Christianity, taking the Christian name of Michael.

Michael Shushil Odhikari (1924–97) was a social worker, former President of Bangladesh Baptist Shongho, and former NGO advisor to the Government of Bangladesh during the presidency of Lieutenant General Hossain Mohammad Ershad

Tapan Chowdhury, CEO of Square (Bangladesh)

Samson Hossain Chowdhury, Chairman of Square (Bangladesh)

Promode Mankin is the State Minister of Cultural Affairs (2009 - ) of Bangladesh. He was elected as the Member of Jatiyo Sangshad (3 terms) from Mymensingh 1 (Haluaghat Upazila). He belong to the indigenous group known as the Mandi or Garo.

Patrick D'Costais a renowned journalist in Bangladesh. He was elected several times in the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) and Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) as Vice President, Organizing Secretary, Welfare Secretary and Executive Member. Bangladesh Red Crescent Society life member and Bangla Academy member Patrick D'Costa is the editor of BANGLAKHABOR and fortnightly ANUSANDHANI, a national online News Agency and a fortnightly news magazine. Patrick D'Costa is the first Catholic professional journalist in Bangladesh.

 Olivia, film actress and widow of renowned film director S M Shafi

Andrew Kishore is a popular singer of modern songs and has had many hits as a playback artist in Bangladesh movies

 Jewel Aich is a famous magician of Bangladesh

William Nicholas Gomes is a human rights activist.