The Church in southeastern Bangladesh is mourning the death of American Holy Cross Father Joseph S. Lehane who died in the United States on Aug. 24 after a long illness. He was 77.

Father Lehane, an US Air Force pilot during World War II, joined the Holy Cross Congregation in 1952 and was ordained in 1957. The same year he was sent as a missionary to what was then East Bengal. In 2007 he returned to the US for skin cancer treatment.

“He was a man of love, ever ready to help others,” said his confrere Holy Cross Father Michael Collins Sarker. “Once some robbers stopped him but he simply blessed them saying ‘Go in Peace.’ The robbers recognized him and left,” he recounted.

“Father Lehane loved to feed poor workers and often carried lots of boiled eggs,” said Holy Cross Sister Jamuna Gomes.

Victor Sumer,  a Khasia tribal Catholic said his was previously the only Catholic family in the Sylhet area where the missioner worked. “Now half of the villagers are Catholics thanks to his efforts,” he said.

Abu Jafor,  a local Muslim businessman, recalled how Father Lehane visited his house after the death of his father.

“I took him to see my father’s grave and he told me ‘I’d like to pray for your father’s soul in my own way alone,’” Jafor said. “I burst into tears to see the white man praying for my father’s soul.”

Shitash Dev, a Hindu and a hunter by profession, added that Father Lehane helped him become a good hunter “but never killed a bird himself.”

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