A two-day formation seminar in northern Bangladesh brought together women religious from different congregations to deepen their commitment to consecrated life and strengthen community relationships amid evolving pastoral and social challenges.
Organized by the Diocesan Commission for Clergy and Religious of Rajshahi Diocese, the program gathered 42 sisters from 12 congregations at Christ Jyoti Pastoral Service Center from May 15 to 16. Rajshahi Diocese is located in northwestern Bangladesh and serves Catholic communities across a largely rural region of the country.
Held under the theme “Service as Pilgrims of Hope in Consecrated Life,” the seminar focused on strengthening religious life through prayer, reflection, dialogue, and practical formation. Participants explored issues affecting community life, including communication, leadership, mutual understanding, and relationships within convents and parish ministries.
Fr. Michael Corraya, convener of the diocesan Commission for Clergy and Religious, said the gathering aimed to address challenges faced by religious sisters, particularly younger members navigating community and pastoral life.
“The sisters should live in communities where there is harmony and peace,” Fr. Corraya told RVA News. “Sometimes junior sisters face difficulties with senior sisters, or misunderstandings arise with parish priests. This seminar helped them reflect on overcoming such situations through better communication and stronger relationships so that their vocation may bear fruit.”
He said the broader goal was to strengthen joy, peace, and unity within consecrated life.
“We want communication to grow among them and for them to discover the beauty of their consecrated vocation,” he added.
The keynote address was delivered by Sr. Smriti Teresa Rebeiro of the Catechist Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Queen of Angels. She encouraged participants to view religious vocation as a lifelong spiritual journey rooted in hope and service.
“Being a pilgrim of hope is not about traveling to a place,” Sr. Rebeiro said. “It is about journeying with God through service, bringing His message of love, forgiveness, and peace to others.”
She described hope as a divine gift that strengthens believers and enables them to accompany others with compassion.
Sr. Rebeiro also spoke candidly about challenges confronting consecrated life today, including weakened commitment to prayer, reduced accountability, excessive social media use, growing individualism, and strains within community relationships.
She encouraged practices such as Eucharistic adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and intercessory prayer while emphasizing the importance of openness, humility, and shared community life.
“Walking together as a group, with openness and humility, is key to sustaining hope,” she said.
Small-group discussions allowed participants to reflect openly on concerns affecting their ministries and convent communities. Sisters identified issues such as limited cooperation, balancing pastoral responsibilities with prayer life, insufficient planning, and limited family support. They also highlighted challenges related to creativity in ministry, responsible media use, and overcoming rigid attitudes that hinder personal and communal growth.
Participants emphasized patience, dialogue, sincerity, and mutual support as pathways toward healthier community life.
One senior sister, speaking anonymously, said the seminar encouraged deeper self-reflection.
“Sometimes we, as senior sisters, tend to dominate the younger ones,” she said. “But that should not happen because we all serve Jesus together. The spirit of the Synod invites us not to suppress, but to walk together.”
The seminar concluded with Mass celebrated by Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi Diocese, who encouraged participants to place Christ at the center of their vocation.
“As pilgrims of hope, we are called to place the will of Jesus before our own,” Bishop Rozario said. “We must rise above laziness and selfishness and serve with the spirit of Mary, bringing joy to others through our lives.”
As participants returned to their communities and ministries, organizers said the seminar reinforced a central message: community life, prayer, and mutual care remain at the heart of consecrated life and Christian witness.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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