Servant of God Theotonius Ganguly
Ave Crux, Spes Unica (Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope)
Archbishop Theotonius Amal Ganguly was born in Hashnabad, which is in present-day Bangladesh, on Feb. 18, 1920, the feast day of his patron saint, St. Theotonius. His family added the Bengali name Amal, which means “spotless” or “innocent.”
After being educated by the Brothers of Holy Cross at Holy Cross High School in Bandura, Theotonius attended St. Albert’s Seminary in Ranchi, Bihard, India. He was ordained a diocesan priest in the Dhaka Archdiocese on June 6, 1946.
In 1947, Ganguly went to the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, in the United States to earn a master’s degree and doctorate. He graduated with his Doctorate in Philosophy in 1951, making him the first Bengali Christian to receive a doctorate. It was the first of several firsts Ganguly’s life would mark for the Catholic community in Bangladesh.
