Rufin Anthony (12 February 1940 – 17 October 2016) was a Pakistani

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishop.

Early life

Anthony was born in

Khushpur Khushpur ( ur, خوش پور) is a village in Samundri Tehsil of Faisalabad District in the province of Punjab in Pakistan. It is at 31°7'0N 72°53'0E with an altitude of 167 metres (551 feet). Neighboring settlements include Nara Dada and R ...

, Lyallpur District,

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 ...

(now in

Faisalabad District Faisalabad District (Lyallpur District until 1979) ( Punjabi and ur, ) is one of the districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 3,029,547 of which almost 42% were in Faisalabad Cit ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

). He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown of

and received his religious training at the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta and the Christ the King Major Seminary, Karachi. Anthony was ordained a priest of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad (Lat: ''Dioecesis Faisalabadensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan. History Erected in 1960, as the Diocese of Lyallpur, the diocese was created from the Dio ...

on 29 June 1969. Additionally, he studied at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

in Rome, where he obtained a Licentiate in Spirituality.

Career

The former

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the Faisalabad diocese, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (Lat: ''Dioecesis Islamabadensis-Ravalpindensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan. There is anecdotal evidence that St. Thomas the Apostle passed through Ta ...

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 soverei ...

on 4 August 2009. The Bishop-elect had served as formator and spiritual director at St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta and as a professor at the Major Seminary in Karachi. He had also served as national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. He later served as rector of St. Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary in Faisalabad and the major seminary in Karachi beginning 23 April 2004. He again became vicar general of the Faisalabad diocese in 2005 and was parish priest of Khushpur until the announcement of his new appointment. Anthony's other appointments included Parish Priest in Chak, Okara (1974–1976), Vicar General of Faisalabad and Parish Priest of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul (1979–90), Parish Priest of Khushpur (1990–1994), and Parish Priest of Chak (1994–95). On 21 September 2009, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic nuncio to Pakistan, presided at the ordination of Bishop Anthony in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi. More than 1,500 people attended the event. Five days later, hundreds of people gathered in the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul, Faisalabad, to greet Bishop Anthony, a native of Faisalabad. He took possession of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi on 21 September 2009. On 18 February 2010, Bishop Anthony automatically succeeded Bishop Lobo as Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi upon the latter's resignation. He spoke Italian, English, Urdu and Punjabi.

Death

Anthony died on 17 October 2016 in Rawalpindi. His funeral service was led by Bishop of Faisalabad (Bishop Joseph Arshad), Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader, Bishop of Multan

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 ...

, and Bishop of Hyderabad Samson Shukardin."Tributes paid to late Bishop Rufin"
Thenews.com.pk, 20 October 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Rufin 1940 births 2016 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Pakistan People from Khushpur Pontifical Urban University alumni Wikipedia requested photographs of Catholicism Pakistani expatriates in Italy Roman Catholic bishops of Islamabad-Rawalpindi