By India Blooms News Service Feb 17, 2023
Kolkata/IBNS: A two-day photo exhibition starts on Feb 16 at the Mother Teresa Hall in Kolkata, showcasing the life and work of Late Father Ante Gabric. This Croatian Jesuit missionary spent 50 years in eastern India, where he earned the title of Apostle of Sundarbans for his extensive charitable and socio-religious efforts.
Father Gabric worked closely with Mother Teresa and the two shared a deep admiration for each others devotion to Christ.
Exhibitions with a similar theme will take place in Sundarbans, specifically in Basanti on February 23-24 and in Gosaba on February 26-27. The Kolkata exhibition, titled Where the Palms Bloom, is being jointly organized by Violeta Orsulic and Martina Vrecko from Croatia, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Calcutta and Baruipur diocese.
These photo exhibitions have been previously held in Croatia and various European cities since 1990, with the latest ones taking place in six Croatian cities in 2022.
The exhibit showcases rare photographs taken by Croatian photographer Zvonimir Atletic in 1977, which depict the early work of Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata and the late Fr. Gabric, who is now a Servant of God. This is the first step in the four-stage canonization process, which includes Venerable, Beatification, and Canonization.
Cardinal Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, opened the canonization process for Father Gabric on his 100th birth anniversary, February 28, 2015, declaring him a Servant of God.
Vice Postulator, Father Mirko Nikolic, who works for the causes of canonization, says they have finished the diocesan part of the process and need to interview a few more witnesses in Croatia. Informed sources said that the testimonies from India shall be submitted to The Vatican.
Fr. Gabric was born in Metkovic, Croatia in 1915 and arrived in Kolkata in October 1938. He died in 1988 and was laid to rest in a village parish he established in the Sundarbans, where he served multiple parishes for 45 years.
He joined the Society of Jesus in 1933 with the goal of serving in the Indian missions and was ordained as a priest on November 21, 1943, at St. Marys Theological College in Kurseong, West Bengal.
Archbiship of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza at the inauguration of a photo exhibition in Kolkata - "Where the Palms Bloom" - on the life of Late Fr Ante Gabric, a Croatian Jesuit priest also known as "The Apostle of the Sundarbans" who worked with Mother Teresa
From then on Father Ante (Gabric) was a man on fire and a man for the frontiers, finding new avenues and opportunities to reach out to the unreached and unreachable in the dacoits-infested and communist-ruled islands of the Sundarbans, wrote late Nicolas Naskar, a catechist who had worked with the Jesuit since his arrival in the flood-prone deltaic region of the Sundarbans.
Father Gabric was a prolific letter writer, especially to his family members, friends, acquaintances and benefactors. He also started many self-help groups imparting skills like carpentry and tailoring to help people to earn their livelihood.
The photo-exhibition is very nostalgic and aptly brings back to life the time when Fr. Gabric was a familiar face in the Sundarbans. Old folks still recall growing up hearing stories of Father Gabric being a familiar figure walking and cycling through challenging terrains to reach out to the people in need, said Mr. Subrata Ganguly of Church Art.
Violeta, who established the Fr. Ante Gabric Foundation, said Father Gabric and Mother Teresa have inspired her to organize the program in India. Martina expressed the joy of visiting the places touched by Father Gabric.