Archbishop Moses Costa of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Archdiocese died in the morning of July 13 due to multiple strokes caused by a brain hemorrhage.
“With great sadness and loss, I announced to you and to everyone concerned that His Grace, Archbishop Moses Costa, CSC, has expired today,” announced Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Bangladesh.
On June 15, Archbishop Costa was diagnosed to have been infected with the new coronavirus, the first known member of the clergy in Bangladesh to have the disease.
On June 24, he was reported to have already recovered from the disease after tests found him negative of the virus.
The 70-year-old archbishop is secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh and chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Healthcare Commission.
Before serving as archbishop of Chittagong, the prelate served as bishop of Chittagong and Dinajpur since 1996.
Chittagong was among the first of the eight Catholic dioceses in Bangladesh to issue COVID-19 health guidelines and closed all churches for public liturgy.
Bangladesh lifted the shutdown on May 31 and, since then, all dioceses except Chittagong have opened churches for public liturgy, including Masses.
