Bangladesh mourns Bishop Francis Gomes of Mymenshingh

(February 18, 2011) The Catholic Church of Bangladesh is mourning a veteran shepherd known for his work among the tribals in the northeast of the country. Retired Bishop Francis A. Gomes of Mymenshingh passed away on Thursday. He was 80 and had been seriously ill since his retirement in 2006. He became paralyzed in 2008 after a massive stroke caused continuous brain hemorrhage. He was born on April 30, 1931 at Rangamatia parish of Dhaka archdiocese. The future Pope John Paul II ordained him a priest in 1959. It was also the Polish Pope who appointed him the first bishop of Mymenshing on May 15, 1987. Bishop Francis Gomes pioneered evangelization among tribal people of the greater Mymensingh region and was the first local Bengali priest to work among tribals in the area. Father Simon Haccha, a tribal Garo priest and pastor of Ranikhong parish remembered Bishop Francis Gomes for his work for a better socio-economic, cultural and pastoral conditions of the tribal people. Since 2006, Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi, a tribal himself, has be heading Mymenshing diocese.