Chittagong: St Mary's church

December 2024

The early history of Jamalkhan Catholic Church goes back to 1600 A.D. when the first Church was built by Fr. Francisco Fernandez, S.J. and dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The first mass was celebrated there by Fr. Fernandez on December 8, 1600. For a long time, this center was under the pastoral care of the Cathedral parish, and officiating priests used to visit the parish for masses, feast days, etc. The majority of the parishioners were mostly centered around the Jamalkhan area but also comprised people as far as Lalkhan Bazar, Sholosohor, Chowkbazar, and Bibirhat.

https://ctgdiocese.com/parishes/jamalkhan/

Above the Jamalkhan Roundabout stands St Mary's Church (and school). It is a prominent (and old) feature in Chittagong. Nearby is Chawk Bazar, the oldest market in the city. Also, somewhere near the church are supposedly the remains of a Portuguese fort (which I never located) . Most of the Catholic students from Asian University for Women attend mass at St Mary's (it is not far from campus) and at least one mass is conducted in English.

The last Christmas I spent in Chittagong, I walked up into the church compound to have a look at its decorations and walk around the graveyard (quite old). My friend Sabbir tagged along and found the whole experience mystifying as he had never been near a church his entire life. He asked a lot of questions which showed how little Muslim Bangladeshis know about the Christian minority in their country (which is vanishingly small). Sabbir's inquiries were incredibly naive and childlike - as if Christianity were some exotic practice. Although Christianity does not acknowledge Islam, Muslims should know something about Christians and Jews as part of their religious education.

Highly-educated Bengalis are quite proud of the diversity in their country and are extremely tolerant. They are, however, in the minority. As with many places in the world, religious extremists have great influence over the masses. Non-Muslims in Bangladesh live in a constant state of vigilance - it is never fun to be a minority in any country.

The holiday lights were nicely done and provided a break to the tedium of walking down that same street to one of my usual coffee hang outs. After seeing the lights we had some cake - it seemed appropriate.

At least Christmas is not banned in Bangladesh - for now.