Children perform on stage during the inauguration of Jesuit-run St. Xavier's International School in Gazipur district of Bangladesh on Aug. 13. More than four centuries after Jesuits became the first Catholic missionaries to land in East Bengal of India, the religious order kicked off its education ministry in the country.
Jesuit Father Ripon Rozario, superior of Jesuit Bangladesh Mission, noted that it took a long time for the order to start education apostolate as the missionaries came to Bengal at various times and did not settle for various reasons. “Now the number of our local Jesuits has increased, we are quite strong, and our community feels that we need to work for our own country. That’s why we have started this school to expand our ministry,” Father Rozario told UCA News.
“Most English medium schools are located in cities like Dhaka. Many parents move to the city to allow their children to have an English-medium education. Another reason was we had our property to start a school here,” Father Rozario said, adding that Jesuits would expand their education ministry in other parts of the country.