Liberius Pieterse (12 February 1905 – 24 September 1973) was a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
priest working initially in the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay is a particular church celebrating the Latin Rite of worship, centred in the Bombay (Mumbai) city of the northern Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The archdiocese has been a Metropolitan see since i ...
and
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi
The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdioces ...
in
colonial India
Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices.
The search for the wealth and prosper ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, respectively.
Early life
Pieterse was born in
Wageningen
Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many t ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 12 February 1905. He did his schooling in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
,
Schiedam
Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...
and
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
. He studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Rotterdam. He attended the Seraphic School at
Sittard
Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg.
The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016.
In its east, Sittard borders the German municipali ...
from 1926 -1929. He was received in the
Order of Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
on September 7, 1929. In 1936 he was ordained a priest, and seven months later he arrived in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.
He was talented especially in languages, mathematics, music and art. He learned
Konkani language
Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
and Punjabi to get in touch with the working people in society.
Religious career
He started work as assistant in
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi
St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, and is located near the Empress Market in the Saddar locality in central Karachi. The church was completed in 1881, and can accommodate 1,500 worshipers. At th ...
and teacher in
St Patrick's High School, Karachi
, motto_translation = Through hardships to the stars
, location = Saddar Town, Sindh
, city = Karachi
, province =
, country = Pakistan
, coordinates =
, established =
, found ...
. In 1937 he became the editor of a new monthly "St. Anthony in India". In November 1937 he was transferred to Quetta and was assistant at
Holy Rosary Church, Quetta The Holy Rosary Church, Quetta, Pakistan is the main church of the Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta.
From 1937-1939 the parish had as Assistant Parish Priest Fr. Liberius Pieterse, who translated the Bible into Urdu.
The parish is also home to some ...
, and assistant principal of
St Francis Grammar School ''For the school of the same name in Hartlepool, England, see St Francis RC Grammar School.''
St. Francis' Grammar School is a private Catholic secondary school located in Baluchistan, Pakistan. The school is situated on the Zarghoon Road (formerl ...
. During these years he got in touch with the Urdu speaking Catholics as well as some
Pushto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
speaking non-Christians. Two years later he was transferred to Sanghar as assistant, and also helped in
Mirpurkhas
Mirpur Khas ( Sindhi and ; ''meaning "Town of the most-high Mirs"'') is the capital city of the Mirpur Khas District and Mirpur Khas Division in the Sindh province, Pakistan. Mirpur Khas is the 16th largest city in Sindh province and the 80th ...
, a small station without a resident priest. In 1939
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
broke out, and since Mgr.
Salesius Lemmens
Salesius Lemmens, was a Dutch Franciscan friar who served as the Apostolic Prefect of the Catholic Church in Karachi, then a part of British India. He died at the age of 37 in a drowning accident.
Early career
Lemmens came from a large family an ...
had started
Portiuncula Friary
The Franciscan Portiuncula Friary is the oldest friary in Pakistan, founded in 1940. It is located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, adjacent to the Christ the King Seminary. It is the Pakistani base of the Order of Friars Minor, a mendicant Catholic r ...
for the training of the local friars, Pieterse was taken on the teaching staff of the Friary. He taught philosophy, Greek, Hebrew and music.
In July 1941, he was made Parish Priest of
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Karachi
The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdioces ...
. In February 1944 Fr. Liberius went to
Sanghar
Sanghar ( sd, سانگھڙ; ur, سانگھڑ English: Sānghar) is a city in Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Sanghar is the headquarters of Sanghar District and Sanghar Taluka (a subdivision of the district). The driving distance of Sangher ...
as Missionary-in-charge. Eight months later he was in Quetta for work among the
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
. In 1948 he was in St. John’s Parish, Karachi, and a year later was transferred to
Nawabshah
Nawabshah ( sd, نوابشاھ, ur, ) is a tehsil and headquarters of the Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the 27th largest city in Pakistan. Nawabshah Tehsi ...
. In 1950 he was back at Portiuncula Friary as lecturer in Urdu and organist. From there he went to St. Anthony’s Parish (Karachi) in 1952. In November 1953 he was made a member of the Editorial Staff for Urdu publications based in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
. At this time that the Catholic Church decided on an official translation of the Bible in Urdu. Fr. Liberius, with two others, set out to do this job. The translation of the Bible into Urdu is mainly his work. In September 1956 he was assistant at St. Anthony's Church, and two years later he was sent to Sanghar as Missionary-in-charge of St. Paul's Church there. In August 1962 he was back at St. Anthony's, Karachi.
Following holidays in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, he decided to work in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan (Lat: ''Dioecesis Multanensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.
The diocese is located in the southern Punjab in a central part of Pakistan. The total population ...
. He worked for four years in Multan, spending most of his time in liturgical work, translations, and assistance to the priests there in parish work. Here work was started on the Dictionary of Christian Terminology in Urdu in cooperation with the non-catholic churches.
In 1971 he was back in Karachi at
Christ the King Seminary (Pakistan)
The Christ the King Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi, Pakistan; located in adjacent to the Portiuncula Friary. In its early years most of the faculty were provided by the Franciscans. It has been described ...
to work with Fr. John Joseph, on a new ecumenical translation of the Bible and the New Roman Missal.
In 1973, he was working full-time for three churches, St. Francis Xavier's, Qayyumabad, St. Theresa's in Korangi Township, and Stella Maris church at Korangi Creek.
He was the only missionary to become a Pakistani citizen.
Publications
As Editor of "Saint Anthony in India", Fr. Liberius wrote many of the articles, especially about the early developments of the Church in Sind and Baluchistan. He also published articles on the establishment of the churches up-country in St. Thomas' Chronicle, a communication paper for the friars in Pakistan and India. In 1947, on the Independence of Pakistan, he published a history of the Church in Sind and Baluchistan entitled: In the Land of the Sindhi and Baluchi.NEWSLETTER O.F.M. a monthly publication of the Franciscan Custody of St. John the Baptist, PAKISTAN 5 August 2006
The work which really made Fr. Liberius known all over the country was the translation of the Bible into Urdu. In the last few years he felt the need to work together with the Bible Society for a new translation of the Bible. He did this with another priest, Fr. John Joseph.
In 1955 he published a hymnal: HAMD-ULLAH (Praise God). This was a book of about 200 pages of hymns in Persian script. In 1972, the book was completely revised and published with the help of G. M. Felix under the name NAYA GEET GAO (Sing a new song).
One important contribution that Fr. Liberius made to the Church in Pakistan is the translation of the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
documents into Urdu. As a member of the Institute for Religious and Social Studies, Karachi, he was mainly responsible for the complete translation of these Documents.
A final work is the Dictionary of Christian Terminology in Urdu. In 1960 Fr. Liberius, together with Fr. Tovias Bastiaanse O.F.M., published a first edition in mimeographed form. The work was progressed with the collaboration of the Christian Study Centre in Rawalpindi and the Institute for Religious and Social Studies in Karachi.
He wrote Urdu poetry under the name of Azad.Emmanuel Zafar, A concise history of Pakistani Christians. Lahore: Humsookhan Publication, 2007.
On 24 September 1973 he died at
Fiumicino Airport
Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-bu ...
, Rome. His funeral took place on 29 September 1973 in the Cemetery Chapel of
Campo Verano
The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...