Every year more than 50,000 Christians gather at the shrine of St. Anthony near Dhaka. This year, the pilgrimage was on Feb. 3. Christians from across Bangladesh offered prayers to St. Anthony of Padua in Panjora, a village in Bangladesh’s Gazipur district. This year special prayers were offered seeking the end of the Russia-Ukraine war and for world peace. The feast of the Portuguese saint falls on June 13 but in Panjora it is celebrated in February due to more favorable weather conditions for pilgrims.
