The Jesuits were the first foreign (Portuguese) Catholic missionaries to go to Bangladesh region on October 1, 1598. They also built the first church at Iswaripur, near Chandecan of present Satkhira District, in late 1599 (it was inaugurated on January 1, 1600). One of their missionaries, Father Francesco Fernandes, S.J., on November 14, 1602, became the first martyr in Bangladesh after the army of the Arakan king viciously attacked the Portuguese settlement at Diang, near the Chittagong port.
Later, the Jesuits preached and established churches in places like Chittagong, Diang, Swandip Island, Bakla, and Sripur.
After long ups and downs, the Jesuits had to leave Bangladesh region in December 1684. They restarted their work in this region in 1994.
