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Bhagalpur, the city of Good
Luck has a glorious past. Part of “Anga Desh” of ancient
days, its capital Champanagar, which still exists, was a
seat of Jainism. The district was also a seat of Buddhism
and the Pala king Dharampala, founded the famous Vikramshila
Mahavihara (University) in the 8th century. (The site has
been located in the course of an excavation made by the
Department of Ancient History of the Patna University in the
1960’s) Akbar’s troops were, reported to have passed through
Bhagalpur in 1573 while invading Bengal. Until the 1920’s it
was the second largest town in Bihar.
With such glorious traditions, Bhagalpur has the added
distinction of having a Christian community more than 200
years old. The earliest records of Bhagalpur go back to 1779
but it was only 1783 that it became a resident station. Fr.
Marco della Tomba, an Italian Capuchin was the first to be
posted at Bhagalpur. He came to India in 1757 and after
working in Bettiah and Chandernagore was sent to Bhagalpur
where he built the first church through the interest and
substantial contribution of Mr. Dominico Pedro Lopez, an old
Portuguese of the place. Fr. Marco died in Bhagalpur in 1803
and was buried there. He was a great Indologist. He learnt
Hindi and translated several classical Hindu religious books
like the Ramayana, the Bhagavat Gita and the works of Kabir.
He also wrote several books containing contemporaneous
events in Tibet, Nepal and India.
Bhagalpur had another famous missionary, Fr. Antony Pezzoni
of Lodi who translated the Gospels in Hindi and later became
the Bishop of Agra. He was replaced by Fr. Julius Ceasar who
had to minister the vast territory comprising of
Chandernagore, Patna, Purnea and Bhagalpur. Begum Sumru
recommended his name to Pope Gregory XVI, to be made the
first Bishop of Sardhana. Bhagalpur also was fortunate to
have the ministry of Fr. Florian, a Polish Capuchin who was
acclaimed as one of the holiest missionaries who worked in
India. He is said to have once crossed the Ganga with a
guide holding his cord. He walked as if it were on dry
ground to minister to a sick man who lived across the river.
He died of T.B. due to extreme penances.
During the time of Bishop Hartmann, Fr. John Baptist Giglio
was the pastor of Bhagalpur. Another priest that is to be
remembered among the pastors of Bhagalpur is Fr. Cajetan
Cesery, the first Indian priest from Bihar. When Fr. Baptist
Maligrano was the pastor at Bettiah, he sent Fr. Cajetan to
Rome. He came back after 10 years and wrote both in English
and Hindi. He renewed the little church built by Fr. Marco.
The people of Bhagalpur remember especially Fr. John of
Anzola, an Italian. He was in charge of Bhagalpur from 1885
to 1916. (Bhagalpur now has Baptismal records dating from
07.03.1892). The earthquake of 1897 destroyed the first
church of Bhagalpur and it was Fr. John who built it. The
church was completed in 1902. It was he who built the
presbytery (the present Bishop’s House) in 1912. Fr. John
died on 4th October, 1919 and was buried at the right side
of the church that he built at Bhagalpur.
Thus Bhagalpur was at first a part of the Prefecture of
Tibet-Hindustan, erected by the Congregation of the
Propagation of Faith in 1703 and entrusted to the Italian
Capuchins of the Province of Picenum. In 1827 an independent
Vicariate of Patna was erected. In 1885 Patna Vicariate was
made part of the Allahabad Diocese. In 1886, North Bihar
Mission was made Bettiah-Nepal Prefecture which was
dissolved in 1919 and it was then joined with South Bihar
region to make the present Patna Diocese and handed over to
the American Jesuits.
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