On 7 February 2023 (Tuesday), the National Office of PMS Bangladesh arranged a meeting with all the Diocesan Directors of the country at CBCB Center, Mohammadpur, Dhaka. Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI, the Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) chaired at the meeting. PMS Diocesan Directors from the Archdioceses of Dhaka and Chattagram and the Dioceses of Dinajpur, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barishal joined the meeting. After a beginnig prayer and words of welcome, Fr. Peter Chanel Gomes, the National Director, invited all the members present to contribute with their valuable thoughts and experience. He explained that the purpose of this meeting is to chalk out a realistic and effective plan for all sort of mission acitivites and animation programs both in national and diocesan level. Informing about the financial crisis of National Office due to lack of subsidies from the PMS International Secretariats last year, he also requested them to cooperate with the National Office however possible.
Discussing on the Agenda of the meeting, the National Office then chalked out animation programs exclusively for Catechiests on ‘Evangelization and Synodal Church’ in eight Dioceses of the country. The Diocesan Directors were requested to fix the dates of the programs in their dioceses and communicate with the National Office by the end of February 2023.
Since arranging Mission Animation Programs for Children and Animators’ Training in national level is very expensive and the National Office is in financial crisis, it was decided by the house that such programs will be arranged in all the dioceses. National Office will provide guidance, materials, and if possible, financial support beside the local support from each Diocese. Hopefully, when the crisis will be over, National Office may arrange Training program for Animators’ on Mission Animation in national level, because in such training, the animators coming from various parts of Bangladesh learn from each other and are benefited a lot through mutual exchange of experience and interactions.
The National Director invited all the Directors to frequently arrange programs for awareness on vocation with children and youth. During Vocation Sunday this year, a Vocation Fair can be arranged in each Diocese in order to inspire people on the beauty and joy of the priestly and religious life.
After that, the house unanimously decided on to go for an Exposure on Evangelization by all the Diocesan Directors on the 30th of April 2023. The venue was fixed as Bagerhat Parish under Khulna Diocese. During the Sunday liturgy (Vocation Sunday) on that day, the presence of all Directors together and their sharing on evangelization and mission activites will surely be a great witness to people, and at the same time, an opportunity inspire the people of that parish and motivate them for their missionary contribution in prayers and charitable works.
The National Director reminded all present to inspire children and adolescents to draw images of Pauline Jaricot, the Foundress of PMS and send them to the National Office to be published in the quarterly magazine Shantir Barta (the Message of Peace) of PMS Bangladesh. The best images will be sent to International Secretariats in order to participate in the worldwide drawing competition.
In the miscellaneous, there were discussion regarding the proper and timely distribuiton of PMS envelops for local contributions, posters of Holy Childhood Sunday, Vocation Sunday and World Mission Sunday and the quarterly magazine Shantir Barta. Even though the National Office publish and send them much earlier, some of the parishes in all the Dioceses do not receive on time from their Bishop’s houses. The Directors were requested in this regard to cooperate with the National Office.
Afterwards, Archbishop Bejoy thanked all present for their active and fruitful participation in the meeting. The meeting ended at 12:15 PM with Angelus followed by Archbishop’s blessing.
Fr. Peter Chanel Gomes, National Director of Pontifical Mission Societes Bangladesh
