DHAKA CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE

Archbishop :
Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI, DD
Date of Birth and Place : 9 February 1956
Vill: Puran Tuital
P.O. Daudpur, Dist. Dhaka
Ordained to Priest : 20 February 1987
Elected Bishop of Khulna : 19 February 2005
Consecrated Bishop of Khulna : 6 May 2005 (Khulna)
Appointment as Bishop of Sylhet : 8 July 2011
Installation in Sylhet : 30 September 2011
Address : Archbishop's House
1 Kakrail Road
P.O. Box-3, Dhaka-1000
Tel. : (00 88 02) 9358247
Mobile : 01715145571
Email : bpcruze@gmail.com
Total Area : 12,500 sq.km
The Archdiocese is comprised or the civil districts of Dhaka, Gazipur, Manikgonj, Munshigonj, Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Cumilla and Brahmanbaria
Total Population : 42,750,130
Catholics : 80,982
Languages spoken : Bangla, English, Garo, Santali, Telegu and Oraon
Name : Dhaka
Suffragans : Dioceses of Dinajpur, Mymensingh,
Rajshahi & Sylhet

H.Em. Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, CSC
Date of Birth and Place :1 October 1943
Vill. & P.O. :Padrishibpur,
Dist. : Barishal-8230
Ordained Priest :8 January 1972
Elected Bishop of Rajshahi :21 May 1990
Consecrated Bishop of Rajshahi :12 September 1990
Appointed as Bishop of Chittagong :3 February 1995
Installation as Bishop of Chittagong :21 April 1995
Appointed as Coadjutor
Archbishop of Dhaka :25 November 2010
Installed as Coadjutor
Archbishop of Dhaka :25 January, 2011
Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Dhaka :22 October, 2011
Elevated as Cardinal : October 9, 2016 (First Cardinal from Bangladesh)
Conferring of Cardinalship : 19 November, 2016 by His Holiness Pope Francis
Residence : Archbishop’s House
1 Kakrail Road
P.O. Box-3, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Tel. :(00 88 02) 9358247
Mobile :(+ 88) 017 1500 3843
E-mail : archbishoppdr43@gmail.com
cardinalpdr43@gmail.com
Patroness : Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Languages spoken : Bangla, English, Garo, Santali, Bormon, Koch, Telegu and Oraon.

Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop : Most Rev. Theotonius Gomes, CSC
Date of Birth and Place :9 April 1939
Vill. :Madbartek, Golla Parish
Dist. : Dhaka-1320
Ordained Priest :19 December 1964
Elected Bishop
of Dinajpur Diocese :19 December 1978
Consecrated as Bishop :4 April 1979
Nominated as Titular Bishop of
Zuchabar and Auxiliary
Bishop of Dhaka :23 February 1996
Installation as Auxiliary
Bishop of Dhaka :28 May 1996
Residence : Archbishop’s House
: 1 Kakrail Road
P.O. Box-3, Dhaka-1000
Bangladesh.
Tel. :(00 88 02) 9358247
Mobile :(+88) 017 1504 3477
E-mail : theotonius39@gmail.com

Brief History: In the second half of the 16th century, there were Catholics in various parts of the territory now comprising Bangladesh. Prominent among these early Christian settlements were Hussainpur of Mymensingh District and Shripur near Sonargaon, the old capital of Eastern Bengal. When Mylapore (Madras, India) was erected into a Diocese in 1606, the Mission stations of Bengal were placed under its jurisdiction. Among the Churches erected by the Augustinians at that time were those at Tejgaon in 1677 and Nagori in 1695.

In 1834, the Vicariate Apostolic of Bengal was created, under the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation for Propaganda Fide. In 1850, this Vicariate was "de jure" divided into two, the Vicariates Apostolic of Eastern and Western Bengal. In 1852, the Vicariate of Eastern Bengal, with headquarter at Dhaka, was entrusted to the newly-founded Congregation of Holy Cross. This Congregation still serves in this territory.

The first Vicar Apostolic was Rt. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Oliffe. He administered the vicariate from 1852 to 1853. The first Holy Cross Missionaries arrived in May 1853. From 1855 to 1859, the Pro-Vicar Apostolic was Rev. Louis Verite CSC. In 1860, Rev. Pierre Dufal CSC was named Vicar Apostolic and was consecrated in France as the Titular Bishop of Delcon. He returned to Dhaka in 1861 and administered till 1876.

From 1876 to 1889, when the Holy Cross Missionaries were recalled by their Superior to France, the Vicariate was administered by the Benedictine monks of the Anglo-Belgian Province. Dom Cuthbert Downey OSB was the Pro Vicar Apostolic. He was later succeeded by Dom Gregory de Groote, OSB, as the Administrator.

In 1889 the Holy Cross Missionaries returned to Eastern Bengal, under Rev. Michael Fallize CSC. Earlier on 1 September, 1886, the Diocese of Dhaka was canonically erected. The new Diocese included the territories of the present-day Dioceses of Chittagong (Bangladesh), Silchar (Assam, India), and Prome (Myanmar). Chittagong was separated from the jurisdiction of Dhaka in 1927.

When independence first came in 1947, Dhaka was still a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Calcutta (India). In July 1950, a new Ecclesiastical Province was created, with the See of Dhaka raised to the Archiepiscopal status. Chittagong, Dinajpur, and Jessore (presently Khulna) were made the first suffragan Sees. Most Rev. Lawrence Leo Graner CSC of Dhaka was named the first Archbishop of Dhaka.

In September 1960, His Holiness Pope John XXlll gave Dhaka (and in fact Bangladesh) its first Bangalee Bishop in the person of the Most. Rev. Theotonius A. Ganguly CSC, naming him Titular Bishop of Oliva and Auxiliary Bishop of Dhaka. In November 1967, Bishop Ganguly became the first Bangalee Archbishop of Dhaka, and the seventh prelate to grace the See of Dhaka. On his death in 1977, Most Rev. Michael Rozario, Bishop of Dinajpur, succeeded him as the third Archbishop of Dhaka, on 9 April 1978. On the retirement of Archbishop Michael Rozario, Most Rev. Paulinus Costa, Bishop of Rajshahi was elected as the Archbishop of Dhaka on 9 July, 2005 and was installed Archbishop of Dhaka on 9 September, 2005. Most Rev. Patrick D'Rozario CSC, Bishop of Chittagong was nominated as Coadjutor Archbishop of Dhaka on November 25, 2010 and assumed the responsibility as Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Dhaka on October 22, 2011 on the retirement of Archbishop Paulinus Costa. Most Reverend Patrick D’Rozario, csc, Archbishop of Dhaka was elevated as Cardinal on 09 October 2016 and the Consistory was held on 19 November, 2016. Most Rev. Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI was elected as the Archbishop of Dhaka on 30 September, 2020 and was installed Archbishop of Dhaka on 27 November, 2020.

On 2 February, 2017 when Chittagong was erected as the Second Archdiocese, the former suffragan dioceses of Chittagong, Khulna and Barishal was separated from Dhaka Archdiocese.