{"id":6251,"date":"2026-02-10T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=6251"},"modified":"2026-02-13T16:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:01:25","slug":"pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Stephan Uttom Rozario, OSV News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(OSV News) \u2014 Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at St. Anthony\u2019s shrine in Bangladesh\u2019s Archdiocese of Dhaka, despite anxiety and fears of violence, ahead of national elections in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as they pray for peace in Bangladesh and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like every year, on Feb. 6, about 40,000 devotees gathered at Panjora village, in St. Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Gazipur district, despite fears of attacks on minorities, including Christians<\/a>, ahead of the country\u2019s national elections scheduled on Feb. 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Anthony\u2019s pilgrimage is traditionally held on the first Friday of February \u2014 but in 2026, the scene looked different as a large number of law enforcement officers were seen around the pilgrimage site amid fears of sabotage against minorities. Authorities also said that the entire area was monitored by CCTV cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animesh Gomes, 42, joined the pilgrimage from the Rajshahi diocese, around 160 miles from Dhaka, with his wife and two children<\/a>. Gomes said that while there were a lot of pilgrims, it seemed few compared to previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also did not want to come to the shrine this year out of fear, but later we decided that if something happens while attending a religious ceremony, it is not a problem. So, I came with my family,\u201d Gomes told OSV News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he thought security was sufficient, fear was still mounting in the minds of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh Christians face rising threats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In November 2025, hand grenade explosions occurred at the Dhaka Cathedral and St. Joseph\u2019s School and College. The following month, a Muslim group threatened several Catholic educational institutions<\/a> and individuals in Dhaka through a letter. The letter threatened to attack cathedrals, churches, chapels and missionary institutions, and mentioned they belong to a Muslim group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a country where 90% of Muslims live, you are trying to convert people by using educational institutions as a tool,\u201d the Muslim group stated in the letter from Archbishop Bejoy D\u2019Cruze of Dhaka, who expressed \u201ca grave concern for the Catholic Church\u201d after the letters were discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians in Bangladesh<\/a>, which has a population of 180 million, make up less than 1%, and fear among them is growing as elections approach. A student-led uprising toppled the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, and she fled to India. Nobel peace-prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge days after Hasina\u2019s fall<\/a>. Since then, the country\u2019s Hindu Christians and other minorities have repeatedly expressed their concerns about their security to the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political analysts believe that either the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, or the hardline Islamist party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami could form the government in the national elections on Feb. 12. However, the BNP has a bigger chance in terms of chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Feb. 6 pilgrimage, Dhaka\u2019s Auxiliary Bishop Subroto Boniface Gomes<\/a> said that God\u2019s word is a letter of love \u2014 a message for the faithful not to leave behind, but to implement in our daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as the great St. Anthony was able to bring many people to God, may we also be able to use the word of God to bring people to the path of God,\u201d Bishop Gomes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishop urges parishioners to deeper commitment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The prelate criticized Catholics and said that nowadays it is seen that faithful come to St. Anthony only to ask for favors, and forgetting to give back in regular Mass attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut St. Anthony calls us to live according to the ideals of Christ<\/a> and to bring others to the path of Christ<\/a>,\u201d said Bishop Gomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists together participate in the St. Anthony\u2019s pilgrimage to offer special prayers and thanksgiving to the Portuguese Franciscan saint in the biggest yearly interfaith gathering led by Catholics in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devotion to St. Anthony in the region where the shrine is situated comes in part thanks to local legend and belief that a statue of St. Anthony mysteriously disappeared and reappeared at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An 18th-century Bengali Catholic Dom Antonio also contributed to the popular piety in the Archdiocese of Dhaka. He is known for converting thousands of lower-caste Hindus in the Bhawal region, now part of the archdiocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image: Pilgrims pray in front of the statue of St. Anthony during a pilgrimage in his name near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 6, 2026. Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at the shrine despite anxiety and fears of violence ahead of national elections in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as they pray for peace in Bangladesh and the world. (OSV News\/Stephan Uttom Rozario)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of devotees gather at St. Anthony\u2019s shrine despite rising threats against the Christian minority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":6252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1053],"tags":[2212,2213,569,2217,2220,2214,2215,2216,2222,2223,2224,1660,2219,2218,2221],"class_list":["post-6251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-archdiocese-of-dhaka","tag-auxiliary-bishop-subroto-boniface-gomes","tag-bangladesh","tag-bhawal-region","tag-christians-in-bangladesh","tag-dhaka-cathedral-and-st-josephs-school-and-college","tag-election-violence","tag-elections","tag-minorities","tag-muslim-majority","tag-panjora-village","tag-sheikh-hasina","tag-st-anthonys-pilgrimage","tag-st-anthonys-shrine-in-bangladesh","tag-stephan-uttom-rozario"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thousands of devotees gather at St. Anthony\u2019s shrine despite rising threats against the Christian minority.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"632\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"OSV News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"OSV News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"OSV News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/78b508897748b14f03af3c709940d12b\"},\"headline\":\"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Archdiocese of Dhaka\",\"Auxiliary Bishop Subroto Boniface Gomes\",\"Bangladesh\",\"Bhawal region\",\"Christians in Bangladesh\",\"Dhaka Cathedral and St. Joseph\u2019s School and College\",\"election violence\",\"elections\",\"Minorities\",\"Muslim majority\",\"Panjora village\",\"Sheikh Hasina\",\"St. Anthony\u2019s pilgrimage\",\"St. Anthony\u2019s shrine in Bangladesh\",\"Stephan Uttom Rozario\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\",\"name\":\"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":632,\"caption\":\"Pilgrims pray in front of the statue of St. Anthony during a pilgrimage in his name near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 6, 2026. Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at the shrine despite anxiety and fears of violence ahead of national elections in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as they pray for peace in Bangladesh and the world. (OSV News\/Stephan Uttom Rozario)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"width\":333,\"height\":68,\"caption\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/78b508897748b14f03af3c709940d12b\",\"name\":\"OSV News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/osvnews_avatar-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/osvnews_avatar-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"OSV News\"},\"description\":\"OSV News is a national and international wire service reporting on Catholic issues and issues that affect Catholics. It is a part of OSV Publishing, a division of OSV, the largest English-language Catholic publishing company in the United States. OSV, based in Huntington, Indiana, was founded in 1912.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/osvnews\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine","og_description":"Thousands of devotees gather at St. Anthony\u2019s shrine despite rising threats against the Christian minority.","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/","og_site_name":"Maryknoll Magazine","article_published_time":"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":632,"url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"OSV News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"OSV News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/"},"author":{"name":"OSV News","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/78b508897748b14f03af3c709940d12b"},"headline":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence","datePublished":"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/"},"wordCount":757,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg","keywords":["Archdiocese of Dhaka","Auxiliary Bishop Subroto Boniface Gomes","Bangladesh","Bhawal region","Christians in Bangladesh","Dhaka Cathedral and St. Joseph\u2019s School and College","election violence","elections","Minorities","Muslim majority","Panjora village","Sheikh Hasina","St. Anthony\u2019s pilgrimage","St. Anthony\u2019s shrine in Bangladesh","Stephan Uttom Rozario"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/","name":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence - Maryknoll Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-10T15:59:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T16:01:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/20260210T0700-BANGLADESH-ST-ANTHONY-PILGRIMAGE-1812833ED-e1770738176291.jpg","width":1000,"height":632,"caption":"Pilgrims pray in front of the statue of St. Anthony during a pilgrimage in his name near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 6, 2026. Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at the shrine despite anxiety and fears of violence ahead of national elections in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as they pray for peace in Bangladesh and the world. (OSV News\/Stephan Uttom Rozario)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/pilgrims-flock-to-bangladesh-catholic-shrine-amid-threats-of-election-violence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pilgrims Flock to Bangladesh Catholic Shrine Amid Threats of Election Violence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","width":333,"height":68,"caption":"Maryknoll Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/78b508897748b14f03af3c709940d12b","name":"OSV News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/osvnews_avatar-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/osvnews_avatar-96x96.png","caption":"OSV News"},"description":"OSV News is a national and international wire service reporting on Catholic issues and issues that affect Catholics. It is a part of OSV Publishing, a division of OSV, the largest English-language Catholic publishing company in the United States. OSV, based in Huntington, Indiana, was founded in 1912.","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/osvnews\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6253,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251\/revisions\/6253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}