History
The Beginning, Growth, and the Present: The Jesuit Mission among the Poor
The Beginning, Growth, and the Present: The Jesuit Mission among the Poor
The Society of Jesus is a world-wide organization with about 16,000 Jesuits spread in about 112 countries.
The history of the Dumka-Raiganj Province, one of the Provinces of the Society of Jesus, begins with the Bengal mission in India. From 1859, the Bengal mission and the archdiocese of Calcutta were given to the care of the Society of Jesus. The mission to the Santals has its beginning from the establishment of Purnea parish; the church was built in 1849. However, Purnea was not really part of the Santal Parganas. The first church in Santal Parganas was built in Madhupur. Both these churches cared mainly to the Anglo-Indian communities. Belgian Jesuits from Asansol ministered to the community here.
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On the 20th December 1923, during the General Congregation 27, Fr Willaert, the Belgian Provincial wrote to Fr Maurice Veys, the Superior of the Bengal Mission, “Fr General wishes that the Sicilian have its own mission. He wants us to find out how we can assign part of the Mission so that in future this will be a mission of this Province.” The letter continues to state, “Study the map of the Mission well and, with the agreement of the Bishops, propose which part of the mission could eventually be assigned to them and under what conditions.”
Bugeja, Fr. Bennie, touring
“I am happy to inform you that Mons. Meuleman, the Archbishop of Calcutta and Fr Veys, the Superior of the Bengal Mission will welcome with open arms the Fathers and Brothers who will give their life, their labour and hardship for the welfare of the Indian people… The Sicilian Province has taken the initiative and has offered its help for the spread of the Gospel… On this enterprise the Sicilian Province has the blessing of holy obedience also,” wrote the Belgian provincial to Fr Rubino.
Fr Rubino, the Sicilian Provincial informed Father General that Fr Anthony Debono, Schs Giuzeppe cordaro and Bernard Bugeja were to be sent to Bengal mission. With the blessings of Fr General the team of three had set sail from Italy ship on the 15 September 1924 to India and arrived Bombay on the 4 October and travelled by train to Calcutta. The Archbishop Perier and the superior of the Bengal mission received them on the 10 October.
Fr Rubino, the Sicilian Provincial informed Father General that Fr Anthony Debono, Schs Giuzeppe cordaro and Bernard Bugeja were to be sent to Bengal mission. With the blessings of Fr General the team of three had set sail from Italy ship on the 15 September 1924 to India and arrived Bombay on the 4 October and travelled by train to Calcutta. The Archbishop Perier and the superior of the Bengal mission received them on the 10 October.
While the two scholastics were sent to pursue their formation, Fr Debono engaged himself in learning Santali, after which he was appointed for the pioneering mission among the Santals. This venture was certainly not without hardships. He began to live in Majlispur. That was not just a beginning, while there had been some dissipated attempts in those areas before, it was rather a beginning of the down pouring of divine grace which bore fruits till today and continues.
Today, this unpretentious backbreaking efforts of many early Jesuits, mainly from Malta effectuated into three full-fledged dioceses of Dumka, Raiganj and Purnea; all the three with their own diocesan clergy besides many congregations of both men and women with parishes, schools and hostels and health care centres mostly managed by congregations of religious women.
The Jesuit mission today has out grown to several communities other than the Santals. The Jesuits apostolic priority covers the ethnic groups of mainly the Santals, the Paharias, the Oraons besides other tribal and Dalit communities. Our educational and health care besides pastoral services reach out to all weaker sections of the people in these regions.
In retrospection of almost 100 years we have nothing but a Magnificat to sing. Starting from Majlispur, insignificant as it was, has today infested the map of the region with centres with schools, college, hostels, parishes, and social-cultural centres.
Jubilee Platinum -Maltese Jesuits with Fr. General
The Jesuit mission today has out grown to several communities other than the Santals. The Jesuits apostolic priority covers the ethnic groups of mainly the Santals, the Paharias, the Oraons besides other tribal and Dalit communities. Our educational and health care besides pastoral services reach out to all weaker sections of the people in these regions.
In retrospection of almost 100 years we have nothing but a Magnificat to sing. Starting from Majlispur, insignificant as it was, has today infested the map of the region with centres with schools, college, hostels, parishes, and social-cultural centres.
