The Archdiocese of Karachi is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan

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 ...

History

The

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

were the first to start a mission in the village of Kolachi in the 17th century. They were followed by the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

who worked in the area until 1672. Around 1842–1843, the Carmelites once again attended to the spiritual needs of the British troops. The

Capuchin order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

served from 1852 and then the Jesuits from 1856 to 1934. On June 1, 1934, it was declared a Mission under the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. It was elevated as the Archdiocese of Karachi on 15 July 1950 when the priests of the Archdiocese took over the management from the Franciscans.

Development

The seat of the Archdiocese is St. Patrick's Cathedral. The

Christ the King seminary 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 ...

, the major

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of the country is located in the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese has contributed to the welfare of the country through its

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

, orphanages and other institutions. In 1998, the Archdiocese of Karachi owned 17 English- and 46 Urdu-medium schools for some 40,000 students with about 1,700 teachers. The Archdiocese has also produced a religious order for women known as the

Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King The Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King (F.M.C.K.) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women that originated in what is now Pakistan and founded schools, orphanages, homes for the aged and disabled and hospitals throughout the coun ...

(FMCK) that founded schools, orphanages, homes for the aged and disabled and hospitals throughout the country and in India and Sri Lanka. The Archdiocese publishes an Urdu-language weekly newspaper Agahi (knowledge) and an English-language weekly newspaper The Christian Voice, Karachi. The Archdiocese celebrated its Golden Jubilee on 20 May 1998. In 2000, the archdiocese had 18 parishes, 15 in the city of Karachi and one each in mission stations at Kotri, Khuzdar and Larkana. In 2009, the Archdiocese had 145 thousand faithful in a population of 15 million people. Encouraged by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

's message for the World Day of Social Communications, wherein he affirms that "digital technologies are a gift for humanity that can be useful for spreading solidarity and understanding among people and populations", the Archdiocese launched a web-based television network Good News TV in February 2009. Father Arthur Charles, the Vicar General, is the CEO of Good News TV. Emblem of the Papacy

On 11 December 2009 the Archdiocese lost its longest serving priest when Father D'Arcy D'Souza, 97, died in Holy Family Hospital. Fr. D'Arcy gave sixty six years of his life in the service of the Church. In June 2018

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

made Archbishop Coutts a

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

, assigning him the titular church of

San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio is a titular church located in Rome, Italy. Location San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio is located to the east of Centocelle Airport. The nearest Metro station is Parco di Centocelle. It is not to be confused with the ch ...

Archbishops of Karachi

James Cornelius van Miltenburg James Cornelius van Miltenburg O.F.M., also known as Alcuin van Miltenburg (14 September 1909 - 14 March 1966), was a Dutch prelate of the Catholic Church who was a missionary bishop in Pakistan, the first bishop of Karachi and of Hyderabad, Pakist ...

, O.F.M. (1948–1958) * Cardinal Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro (1958–1994) *

Simeon Anthony Pereira Simeon Anthony Pereira (19 October 1927, Sukkur, British India - 22 August 2006, Karachi) was a former archbishop of Karachi. Life Pereira was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi. He received his religious training at the Papal Semin ...

(1994–2002) *

Evarist Pinto Evarist Pinto (born 31 December 1933 in Goa, Portuguese India) is the former archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. Education He was educated at St. Thomas High School, Goa, India. In 1960 he started studying for priesthood at the St. Pius X Minor ...

(2004–2012) * Cardinal

Joseph Coutts Joseph Coutts (born 21 July 1945) is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012. Pope Francis created Coutts a cardinal on 28 June ...

(2012–2021) *

Benny Mario Travas Benny Mario Travas is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church and Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. He served as Bishop of Multan from 2015-2021. Biography Travas was born in Karachi, Pakistan, on 21 November 1966. He received his early educa ...

(2021–present)

Churches in the diocese

* Saint Patrick's Cathedral *Saint Michael's Church, Manzoor Colony * Our Lady of Fatima Church * St. Jude's Church *

St Paul’s Church, Azam Basti St Paul’s Parish, Mehmoodabad Gate is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi. The parish is also home to a Catholic school and a home for young orphan girls run by the religious order of the Daughters of the Cross. The Parish Pries ...

- St Paul's Parish * St. Lawrence’s Church *

Sacred Heart Church, Keamari Sacred Heart Church is a 150-year-old church in a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi in Pakistan. On September 18, 2011, Archbishop Evarist Pinto and eight priests celebrated Mass for over a thousand people to commemorate the 15 ...

* St. Anthony’s Church *St. Francis’ Church *St. John’s Church, Drigh Road *St. Luke’s Church, Baldia *Christ the King Church * St. Peter’s Church, Akhter Colony * Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Old Haji Camp *St John Marie Vianney Church, Mehmoodabad

Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Karachi

The Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, located on Siddiq Wahab Road in the

Old Haji Camp Saddar Town ( sd, صدر ٽائون; ur, ), lies in the central part of the city that formed much of the historic colonial core of Karachi. Saddar Town was formed in 2001 as part of The Local Government Ordinance 2001, and was subdivided into ...

area, is a part of the Archdiocese. The first parish priest, from July 1941 – 1944, was Fr.

Liberius Pieterse Liberius Pieterse (12 February 1905 – 24 September 1973) was a Franciscan priest working initially in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi in colonial India and Pakistan, respectively. Early life ...

. He later became known for his translation of the Bible into

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

was appointed Parish Priest of the parish. Fr. Simeon went on to become the Archbishop of Karachi The parish also has a school attached to it. St. Francis was the first parish to cater to the many people migrating from Punjab province to the city. The Jesuits and the

nuns started the migrant mission which still continues as Catholics pour in from the provinces.

Attack

On 12 October 2012, the parish was attacked by a mob of 600 Islamic radicals that destroyed property in the yard, but failed to break down the front door. Saleem Khurshid Khokhar, a member of the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

Provincial Assembly, visited shortly after the attack and condemned violence against religious minorities.Muslim mob vandalize St. Francis Church Karachi
Pakistan Christian Post

In the media

The Archdiocese promotes the message of the Gospel through the following media: * The Christian Voice, an English weekly * Agahi, an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Pakistan

References

External links

* {{authority control

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

1948 establishments in Pakistan Religion in Karachi A