First Bengali priest from Agartala diocese ordained

By Matters India Reporter

Agartala, July 31, 2020: The first priest from the Bengali community in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura was ordained on July 30.

Bishop Lumen Monteiro of Agartala ordained Deacon Sekhar Robin Das for the Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, commonly referred to as the Society of Pilar, at Shantir Rani (Queen of Peace) Church Mariamnagar in Agartala, capital of Tripura state.

The diocese covers the entire state.

Only Father Das’ parents and a few relatives could attend the ceremonies because of the Covid-19 rules and regulations.

Vincentian Father Abraham, parish priest of Mariamnagar, presented the candidate for the ordination.

The beginning of the Catholic faith in Tripura dates back several centuries. Father Ignatius Gomes, a Jesuit priest, first referred to the Christians of Mariamnagar in Agartala when he visited them in 1683. Father P. Barbe, the pastor of Chittagong, visited Tripura in 1843.

Holy Cross Fathers Louis Augustine Verite and Beboit Adolphe Mercier visited Agartala in 1856 and administered sacraments to the Christians in Mariamnagar village. But it was only in 1937 that priests took permanent residence at Mariamnagar.

The first parish in Tripura was erected at Mariamnagar in 1939. The first permanent Church (at present the temporary cathedral) was blessed in 1952. Because of its geographical proximity, the Archdiocese of Dhaka, Bangladesh, continued to cater to the spiritual needs of the Catholics in Tripura until a new ecclesiastical unit, the Prefecture of Haflong, was erected in 1952.

In 1969, the prefecture was upgraded to the diocese of Silchar with Father Denzil D’Souza as its first bishop. At that time the diocese comprised the states of Mizoram and Tripura and the district of Cachar in Assam.

Pope John Paul II carved out the diocese of Agartala from Silchar on January 11, 1996. Bishop Monteiro was appointed its first prelate. The diocese then had 11,000 Catholics in nine parishes.

The diocese now has 20 parishes and a Catholic population of 47,000 in a total of population of 4.5 million. Around 30 percent of its population are people from 19 major tribes. They include Reang, Debbarma, Darlong, Halam, Garo, Jamatia, Tripura, Molsom, Chakma, Hrankhawl, Bongcher, Mog, Kuki and Lusai. However, the majority population is non-tribal.