Bangladeshis are mourning a prominent American Catholic missionary who dedicated much of his life to the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts in the South Asian nation.

Holy Cross Brother Ronald Drahozal passed away at a retirement and treatment facility run by his order in the U.S. State of Indiana on Oct. 16. He was 81.

Brother Drahozal had been suffering from a range of ailments for years and had been in the U.S. since March for medical treatment.

It was Brother Drahozal’s work helping thousands of Bangladeshi youth fight drug addiction that brought him national and international recognition.

Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi Diocese, the vice-president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, said Brother Drahozal’s death is a great loss.