Archbishop Theotonius Amol Ganguly, C.S.C.
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.
While at Notre Dame, he came to know Holy Cross more closely and decided to enter the Congregation. He attended the Novitiate in Jordan, Minnesota, and professed First Vows on August 16, 1952.