Our Superior General, Graciela Francovig, is conducting a canonical visit to Bangladesh and the formation houses in the Philippines from October 12 to 27, 2026. She is accompanied by General Councilor Rosa Espinosa. Here we share the first steps of this journey.
A Warm Welcome in Dhaka
At 4:00 a.m. on October 13, 2026, Sister Graciela Francovig, accompanied by Sister Rosa Espinosa, arrived at the Dhaka airport, where all the sisters gave her a warm welcome.
These have been days filled with encounters, joy, learning about the sisters’ apostolic work, gaining insight into the reality on the ground, and gratitude for the work carried out by these five Daughters of Jesus in Utrail and Mimensing.
A mission full of life.
Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country; therefore, these sisters see themselves as missionaries who bring the Good News of the Gospel to this context. They bear witness to the values of the Gospel in their shared mission with the Salesians at the two boarding schools: St. Candida and St. Teresa of Calcutta. Together, these two schools enable 119 young people between the ages of 11 and 20 to live together throughout the year.
Lory Losbañes is the director of the Madre Teresa Boarding School, and Eufemia Pomado is the director of the Santa Cándida Boarding School. In their welcome remarks, they expressed their appreciation for the visit of the Superior General and the councilor accompanying her, as well as their gratitude to the sisters who are with them, caring for and educating them. At the farewell, music and dance served as a way to express their culture through traditional dances and the colorful costumes they wore.
Two sisters, Eufemia Solleza and Marilou Guillano, live and work in the Diocese of Mymensing. They have also had the opportunity to visit the place where they live and work as members of the leadership team at the Diocesan Social Formation Center in Mymensingh, and Marilou serves as the coordinator of the Vocational Ministry Team in Bangladesh.
In community with the Salesians
The visit provided an opportunity for many simple and friendly encounters.
Graciela and Rosa participated in the Eucharistic celebration in Mandi, a Garo dialect. The celebration highlighted the importance of the local language and culture in expressing and living out the Christian faith in this local Church.
They also took advantage of the visit to greet their Salesian brothers: Fr. Michael Biju, Regional Councilor for South Asia, who was also visiting; Fr. Dang Cosma Lam, Rector of India; Fr. Arvind Khalkol, parish priest and director of social communications for the Kolkata Province; and Fr. Sebastian Thekkel, assistant pastor in Utrail. Informal meetings were held with the boarding school teachers and the cooks.
Gulpara Village
Saturday afternoon’s visit to the village of Gulpara—a place where about 29 families live—was very moving. As she does every Saturday, Sister Helen visits the elderly in the area and brings them Communion. On this day, she was accompanied by the community and the Superior General. It is deeply moving to see how they live and where they live. Faith sustains these people, especially the women, who are the backbone of every family. Some of them work at St. Francis Xavier School. A particularly meaningful moment was when Sister Helen set the mood before giving them Holy Communion. Although she spoke in Bengali, one could sense their deep respect and devotion as they received Jesus in the Eucharist.
Gratitude for the life that is taking shape
At this time, there is a candidate who wishes to find meaning in her life by following Jesus as a Daughter of Jesus and getting to know the Daughters of Jesus better.
A highlight was the community’s formal gathering, where a rich and spontaneous dialogue inspired us to envision the future of the Daughters of Jesus in Bangladesh.
Our time in the Bangladeshi community leads us to express our gratitude for their simple, joyful, and dedicated way of life—a life committed to engaging with reality, collaborating with the Salesians, fostering interreligious dialogue in a predominantly Muslim context, and living in harmony with other religions.
Let us accompany this visit with our prayers
We invite you to accompany this visit with your prayers, so that each encounter may be a source of communion, hope, and renewed momentum for the mission of the Daughters of Jesus in Bangladesh and the Philippines.
You can view all the photos on our new Flickr page.
