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In the vocabulary of Ignatian spirituality, we often talk about "walking with the excluded." If you want to see what that looks like in its purest, most exhausting, and most beautiful form, look no further than Fr. Ante Gabrić, SJ.

For five decades, this Croatian Jesuit lived as a local among the fisherfolk and farmers of the Sundarbans—the vast, low-lying mangrove region of West Bengal. It is a place of breathtaking beauty but immense hardship, prone to violent cyclones, tiger attacks, and crushing economic neglect. Fr. Ante didn’t just visit the periphery; he made it his home. He learned the Bengali language perfectly, ate the simple food of the poor, and spent his days building up communities from the mud up. He established schools to break the cycle of poverty, dug freshwater wells, and constructed dikes to protect villages from salt-water flooding.

His ministry was co-authored by his close collaborator, Mother Teresa. The two shared a singular vision: to quench the thirst of Christ by serving the poorest of the poor. When Fr. Ante died in 1988, he didn’t leave behind riches or grand monuments, but a deeply rooted local Church and a reputation for holiness that transcended religious boundaries. Today, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians alike visit his tomb in Maria Pollee, remembering a man who loved them without limits. As his cause for sainthood progresses in 2026, he stands as a timeless reminder that the ultimate measure of a Jesuit life is how much of ourselves we leave behind on the frontier.

Read more: https://www.jesuits.global/2026/06/08/fr-ante-gabric-sj-apostle-of-the-sundarbans/

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