The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) arranged a thanksgiving ceremony for Papal Nuncio Archbishop George Kocherry at Mohammadpur in Bangladesh on August 22.
"We wish our heartfelt gratitude and deepest love for his loving care and dedicated service to the Catholic Church in Bangladesh," said Father Tushar James Gomes, Secretary of the CBCB.
After around ten years of diplomatic service in Bangladesh, the Indian Archbishop Kocherry is set to retire by the end of this month. He is 77.
The Catholic Church thanked and honoured the apostolic nuncio for his dedicated pastoral service to the local Church in the country.
"We realize that you are a good diplomat because you built a strong relationship between the government and the Church. Through your guidance and care, the Catholic Church became more visible in Bangladesh," said Oblate Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka, president of the CBCB.
At this thanksgiving event, two archbishops, five bishops, vicar-generals, major superiors, and heads of church-run organizations, as well as around 175 lay guests, attended the program.
The president of the Bangladesh Christian Association, Nirmol Rozario, said, "That by being an Indian, our nuncio knew the pulses of the Bangladeshi people better. He could understand the hearts of the people of Bangladesh, and as a diplomat, he knew how to maintain good relations with the government and people."
During the thanksgiving event, Archbishop Kocherry said, "I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all the bishops and people of Bangladesh."
"I can say, after the government, the Catholic Church is the second largest education provider in this country, because the Catholic Church has had a huge involvement in the health sector," Kocherry said.
On behalf of lay people, former executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, Francis Atul Sarker, said to Kocherry, "During your time, Pope Francis visited Bangladesh. He met the Rohingya refugees. He attended an inter-religious meeting with civil society that was inspirational and helped build peace and harmony in this country."
Kocherry, a member of the Syro-Malabar Church, joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1978 and became an archbishop and nuncio in 2000.
After serving as apostolic nuncio to Togo, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh on July 6, 2013.
Since 1 April 2017, Kocherry has been serving as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Bangladesh.
He was born in Changanacherry in Kerala, south India on February 4, 1945.
He studied theology and philosophy in Rome and obtained his doctorate in canon law. He was ordained a priest on June 26, 1974. He completed a diplomatic course at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1974.
Kocherry entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1978. He served in the Nunciature in South Korea, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Singapore, Switzerland, and Australia.
At the end of this month, Archbishop Kocherry is going to retire. He will stay in Kerala after his retirement. -Nikhil Gomes
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