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Perspectief 64 Sergio Targa sj. employed to discourage apostasy and security in money was demanded in order to guar- antee the stability of conversions. 17 The attitude of the fathers seems to have changed in the second period of the mission (from 1937). Fr. Koster wrote in March 1942: “( sic ) Policy is to keep there ( sic ) catechist even if all leave. Stick to the post!” 18 The context surrounding these words was the news that the Christians of Assassuni had left the Christian fold. Ap- parently, from a conception of conversion intended as event the Jesuits little by little sided towards a conception of conversion intended more and more as a process. 3. Missionary institute of the Xaverians Both Jesuit and Salesian fathers were relieved in 1952 by a young Italian missionary insti- tute, the Xaverians. In fact, the departure of the British in 1947 and the separation of Pakistan from what used to be British India led to the redrawing of political maps. Parts of what used to be the Krishnanagar Catholic Diocese (Shimulia and Jessore areas) had fallen now within the new entity of East Pakistan. The same happened to what used to be the most eastern parts of the Calcutta Catholic Diocese (Satkhira and Borodol areas). On 3 January 1952 the pope Pius XII erected the new diocese of Jessore which comprised the afore mentioned territories. After the refusal of Jesuits, Salesians and other missionary in- stitutes to take charge of the new jurisdiction, the Xaverian Dante Battaglierin was appointed as the first Apostolic Administrator of Jessore Diocese on 19 January 1952. Ever since the Xaverian Missionaries have been working in what then became the Khulna Cath- olic Diocese (from 1956). Despite a difficult beginning the Xaverians took on with great zeal the task given them. Soon enough, as much as their predecessors, they realised that the Rishi people were the only ones open to evangelisation, not so the Caste Hindus and the Muslims. At the same time they also realised the difficulties connected to working with Rishi people. Often fathers working in Borodol, Satkhira and Shimulia lamented the lack of religious interest among their people, too aware of the fact that Rishi people were at- tracted to them more to fulfil their material needs than their spiritual ones. Equipped with a theology which in those days saw in conversion the only positive outcome of any mis- sionary presence, those early missionaries often felt disheartened and on the brink of giving up. Fr. Bernacchi, for instance, in 1969 when asked to delay his departure in order to get his re-entry visa to East Pakistan abruptly refused, adding: "I wonder how you can

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