Revisiting the aims of Catholic missionary education in Bangladesh: the case of Holy Cross Congregation

Abstract

The Congregation of Holy Cross has been working on evangelisation and education in Bangladesh for more than 170 years. This study examines the educational mission of the Congregation in Bangladesh. The study is conducted from a historical perspective. The paper is based primarily on the examination of written documents – primary and secondary – and field work involving oral history interviews. The study identifies four primary aims of Holy Cross education in Bangladesh. The paper argues that they have distinctive educational aims at the nation’s elite education both through English and Bengali medium, and villages’ primary and secondary level education. The study illustrates that there has been a shift of emphasis on the educational mission over the years. A significant contribution to the changing mission of Holy Cross education has been the independence of Bangladesh. Another factor that contributed significantly to changes in Holy Cross education has been the Catholic Church itself and the structure of Catholic life, as a result of Vatican II. Mission models that emerged after the Council emphasised social justice and religious pluralism. Those teachings of the Church brought changes to the educational missions of Holy Cross in Bangladesh.

Keywords:

• Holy Cross
• missionary education
• Catholic education
• education history

Acknowledgements

This study is a part of my doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Prof Liz Jackson. I also express my sincere thanks to all anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions for the improvement of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order, was founded by Basil Anthony Moreau in the aftermath of the French Revolution in 1837 (MacEóin 2007). The religious order had chosen its name from Sainte Croix (Holy Cross), a neighbourhood in Le Mans, and their work would be a ministry of faith and education of youth. The Congregation is made up of two separate societies of religious brothers and priests who are united under the name of the Congregation. In 1841, to fulfil his aspiration of the organisation consisting of priests, brothers and sisters, Moreau organised the society of nuns. Moreau wanted to see his mission spread across France and abroad, therefore, he included in his order all aspects of ministry, namely preaching, teaching and foreign missions. Although Moreau had envisaged a religious order including priests, brothers and sisters, the Vatican did not approve the sisters as a part of the Congregation of Holy Cross with the Brothers and Priests. The Sisters got recognition from the Vatican in 1867 as a separate order named the Congregation of the Marianites of Holy Cross. The official name of the Congregation of Holy Cross in Latin is Congregatio a Sancta Cruce, having the initial of C.S.C., which all the members use in their names as well (MacEóin 2007).

2 Although knowledge is not a sacrament of Catholic Church, knowledge is thought to be the eighth sacrament of Catholicism because its strong connection to evangelisation and human development in Catholicism (Timm 2002). Seven sacraments of Catholic Church include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, Holy Orders or Ordination.

3 The Baptist, Anglican, Catholics are actively involved in missionary works among the tribal communities in Bangladesh. Among other who are working among the tribal communities are: Baptist Missionary Society, Australian Baptist Mission, New Zealand Baptist Mission, Bangladesh Mission of the Southern Baptists, International Christian Fellowship and the Bangladesh Lutheran Mission (Rozario 2011).

4 As the foreign missionary-teachers were decreasing after Vatican II, they started to train and recruit more local clergies as teachers in their institutions. Few of them were sent for higher studies in abroad and joined teaching after having their degrees. However, during the transition, there was a gap in the number of foreign priests as they went down faster than the number of local priests came up, therefore, they had to appoint more lay people as teachers from other communities, such as Muslim and Hindu that made the teaching staffs of their elite schools and colleges from Christian majority to Christian minority.

5 In 1974, the government nationalised all primary schools in the country, making the teachers of those schools government employees. Many primary schools run by the Catholic Church were also nationalised at that time. They also accepted the decision as the they found it beneficiary for them because sometimes, they had been struggling to pay the salaries of teachers.

6 In the 1980s, the government introduced the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) for non-government schools and colleges. MPO covers teacher salaries of non-government schools and colleges in Bangladesh.

7 According to the Catholic Church’s Catechism, natural law expresses the original moral sense that enables man to discern the good and the evil, the truth and the lie, through reason. Natural law, in its broadest sense, refers to a set of moral theories that rely on rational discernment of the natural order to distinguish between good and evil. Natural law arguments are frequently used in Catholic moral teaching to condemn ‘unnatural’ and thus immoral acts.

8 Despite the fact that the HC has been providing education to their community through their institutions, the majority of students who attend their schools are Muslims. Many alumni are in dominant positions in their respective fields: development, education, commerce, religion and government.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Md Shaikh Farid

Md Shaikh Farid, PhD, is a faculty member in the Department of World Religions and Culture at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.