In 1537, Portugal established a settlement of Dianga in the area of Chittagong, bringing the Catholic Church and missionaries with them. The first churches were set up in 1600 in a settlement which now forms Dianga and the city of Chittagong. Jesuit Father Francesco Fernandez, who came to Dianga in 1598, and who was blinded and tortured and died in captivity on November 14, 1602, is Bengal's first martyr.
In 1845 Chittagong became the seat of the first Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Bengal, and later the administration was transferred to Dhaka. Noakhali was also the first place to have the Holy Cross missionaries who arrived there in June, 1853.
The Diocese of Chittagong was canonically erected on May 25, 1927, splitting off about half of the territory that then comprised the Diocese of Dhaka. The newly erected bishopric then included Chittagong, Noakhali, Barisal, Gournadi, Narikelbari, Haflong, Badarpur, Akyab, Sandoway, Gyeithaw and Chaugtha. It was entrusted to the care of the Canadian Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Atypically, its first two Ordinaries remained Titular bishops, as if merely Apostolic vicars.
Akyab, Sandoway etc. in present Myanmar were handed over to the La Salette Fathers in the future Apostolic Prefecture of Akyab in 1937–38. On 9 July 1940, the Apostolic Prefecture of Akyab (in Burma (now the Diocese of Pyay) was separated from the Diocese.
When the ecclesiastical province of Dhaka was created in July, 1950, Chittagong became a suffragan of the new Metropolitan of Dhaka.
On February 2, 2017 the bishopric was elevated by Pope Francis to metropolitan rank as Archdiocese of Chittagong, with two suffragans, and on December 28, 2018 was renamed Chattogram.
Episcopal ordinaries
(all Roman rite, so far members of a Latin missionary congregation)
Moses Costa, C.S.C. (April 6, 2011) - February 2, 2017 see below); previously Bishop of Dinajpur (Bangladesh) (1996.07.05 – 2011.04.06), Secretary General of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (2007.07 – ...)
Metropolitan Archbishop of Chittagong:
Archbishop Moses Costa, C.S.C. (see above February 2, 2017 - December 28, 2018 see below)
Metropolitan Archbishops of Chattogram:
Archbishop Moses Costa, C.S.C. (see above December 28, 2018 - 13 July 2020)
Archbishop Lawrence Subrata Howlader, CSC appointed 19 February 2021[1]
Statistics
As per 2015, it pastorally served 48,917 Catholics (0.3% of 19,188,306 total) on 27,647km2 11 parishes with 18 priests (10 diocesan, 8 religious), 75 lay religious (10 brothers, 65 sisters) and 3 seminarians.
Recently many Garo Christians (about 1200) from Mymensingh Diocese in the North migrated to Chittagong City, the second largest city of the country and its biggest seaport city.
Bengalis count 31,700,000, that is 97.5%, who speak Bangla, the National Language. The 13 tribes amount to about 800,000, i.e. 2.5% of the total population, mainly concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and two tribes in the plain.
Tribals have their own languages although not all are written. Among the tribals the Chakmas comprise 50%, Marma 30%, Tripura 10%, Murung 4%, Tangchayanga 3% and other 3%.
Geographical notes
The Archdiocese of Chittagong, in the southern part of Bangladesh, covers 33% of the total surface of the country, making it physically the largest diocese in Bangladesh. Total land area of the archdiocese is 46,331 square kilometers. Boundaries are in the north with the Archdiocese of Dhaka and Tripura State of India, in the west with Khulna Diocese and in the east with Myanmar (Burma) and Mizoram State of India. The archdiocese is divided by Meghna river, one of the principal rivers of the country. The Chittagong Region is in the southeast part and the Barisal Region is on the other side.
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