Fr Rajat Purti SJ pronounced his Final Vows at the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Battambang on 4 January. A Jesuit of the Ranchi Province in North India, Fr Rajat has been a missionary in Cambodia for many years.
He first came to the country in 2001 as a young regent, where he was assigned at the Prefecture of Battambang, working alongside children with disabilities at the Arrupe Centre, while also being part of the outreach team. After his Regency in 2003, he returned to India for theology studies and ordination to the priesthood. He was ordained priest on 7 February 2007, and then pursued a master’s degree in social work.
In 2009, he returned to the Cambodian Mission and was assigned as Parish Priest in Svay Sisophon and Poipet from 2010 to 2015. He went back to Ranchi for Tertianship at St Stanislaus College Sitagrah Hazaribag, Jharkhand India. Upon his return to Cambodia, he was assigned to the two parishes of Kompong Chhnang and Pursat, which are about 90 kilometres apart. His assignment included the floating villages of Chhnak Tru and Kompong Luong, and the housing complex at Pormorea for some of the families who had opted to relocate on land from the floating village of Chhnak Tru.
Today he is the Parish Priest of St Andrew’s Church in Nikum and the Director of the Youths Apostolate for the diocese.
On the day of his Final Vows, all the Jesuits in Cambodia and many parishioners assembled in front of the office of Bishop Kike Figaredo SJ, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, to join Fr Rajat in this special moment of his Jesuit life. In his thanksgiving speech, he said: “My birthplace is in India but I was born as a missionary in Battambang, Cambodia.”
Here are some photos of the celebration:
Noel Oliver is a Jesuit brother from India. He has served in Cambodia for nine years from 1990-1992, 2003, 2004, and 2015 until the present, where he is currently Mission secretary.