Tributes for Priest who Died for Bangladesh

November 15, 2011: On the 40th anniversary of his death, glowing tributes have been paid to Holy Cross Father William P. Evans, an American missioner priest who was killed by invaders in the 1971 liberation of Bangladesh.
Hundreds of people packed St. Francis Xavier Church at Golla, south of Dhaka, for a remembrance service on the date of his death, November 13.
Among the dignitaries were Abdul Mannan, state minister for housing and public works, Promod Mankin, Catholic state minister for cultural affairs and Oblate Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze of Sylhet.
The missioner’s portrait was garlanded and 40 lamps were lit at the service, which was jointly organized by the Atharogram Regional Pastoral Council and Dhaka Archdiocese.
Speakers who addressed the gathering said Fr Evans should receive Bangladesh government’s recognition for his contribution to the liberation war of Bangladesh. There were also requests for local Church authorities to start seeking his canonization.
“I’ve seen how people from all religions revered him,” said 62-year-old Kalipada Howlader, a Hindu. “He was a great person and he loved this country and its people very much.”
Bishop D’Cruze, who hails from the parish of Golla, said that “Fr Evans was a living saint.”
He loved the Bengali people and, throughout the 1971 hostilities, he aided many refugees as they fled the invaders and gave moral and practical support to local freedom fighters.
On November 13, when he was going to offer Mass at a mission in a boat, he was stopped by the Pakistani military, knocked him down to the ground with a rifle butt, bayoneted several times and finally shot dead. His corpse was thrown in the river and carried several kilometers downstream, until it was recovered and returned to the Golla church compound.
Thousands of Catholics, Muslims and Hindus of the area came to pay their respects at his burial. “Even today, I can’t forget his ever smiling face and the encouragement he gave us,” said Albert Gomes, one of the freedom fighters who carried the priest’s body back to the church.