Paulinus Costa (19 October 1936 – 3 January 2015) was the Roman Catholic
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the
archdiocese of Dhaka
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka ( la, Archidioecesis Dhakensis) is the Latin, main Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Metropolitan diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh, but no longer the only one. It still depends on the mi ...
from 2005 to 2011.
Career
Costa was born in
Gazipur
Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুর) is a city in central Bangladesh. It is located in the Gazipur District. It is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh. Its other name is Joydebpur.
Demogra ...
, Bangladesh.
He was ordained as a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
on 21 December 1963. He was appointed the Bishop of
Rajshahi
Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...
on 11 January 1996, and was ordained on 26 April the same year.
On 9 July 2005 he was appointed the Archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Dhaka
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka ( la, Archidioecesis Dhakensis) is the Latin, main Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Metropolitan diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh, but no longer the only one. It still depends on the mi ...
by Pope
Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
,
[ replacing the deceased archbishop Michael Rosario.
In his official capacity, Costa worked to foster communal harmony in the ]Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
-dominated country of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. In recognition of his services, Costa was one of eight to receive an award from the Human Rights Legal Aid Society of Bangladesh for "significant contributions in defending human rights in Bangladesh".Patrick D'Rozario
Patrick D'Rozario, CSC ( bn, প্যাট্রিক ডি'রোজারিও, translit=Pyaṭrik ḍi'rojario; born 1 October 1943) is a Bangladeshi prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Dhaka from 2011 to 2020. He becam ...
.
Personal life
Costa studied theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at the Pontifical Urbaniana University
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...
in Rome and obtained a PhD in theology in 1981.
Death
He died on 3 January 2015 in Dhaka of a heart attack.
See also
* Christianity in Bangladesh
Christians in Bangladesh account for 0.30% (roughly 500,000 believers) of the nation's population as of 2022 census. Together with Judaism and Buddhism (plus other minority religious groups such as Atheism, Sikhism, the Bahá’í Faith and ot ...
* Roman Catholicism in Bangladesh
The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. , there are approximately 350,000, approximately 0.2 percent of the population of Bangladesh. About 60% of Catholics ...
* Archdiocese of Dhaka
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka ( la, Archidioecesis Dhakensis) is the Latin, main Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Metropolitan diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh, but no longer the only one. It still depends on the mi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Paulinus
1936 births
2015 deaths
Roman Catholic archbishops of Dhaka
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Bangladesh
People from Gazipur District
Pontifical Urban University alumni
Roman Catholic bishops of Rajshahi