Newly appointed Novice Master, Fr. Elias Palma, C.S.C., and Br. Shimul Rozario, C.S.C., Assistant Novice Master, received ten novices into the Holy Cross Novitiate in Barishal on January 8. Fr. Palma, C.S.C., celebrated the Mass where the novices received their copies of the Constitutions. Fr. Subash Costa, C.S.C., Director of Holy Cross Pastoral Center, was concelebrant. In attendance were religious sisters from the area and the Holy Cross Brothers in Barishal.

Read more about the work of Holy Cross in Bangladesh
 
The novices immediately began their opening retreat preached by Fr. Pronoy Anthony Gomes, C.S.C., Director of the Pastoral Center in the Archdiocese of Chittagong. Also joining them for the last two days of retreat were four former novices from the previous novitiate class.

In Bangaldesh, the two Holy Cross provinces--the Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Province of St. Joseph--share one common Novitiate, in which the men in formation are formed together for the religious life in the Congregation.. The class of 10 includes for novices for the religious priesthood and six novices for the religious brotherhood.