St. Mary's Church,

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad. It is one of the oldest parishes in the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

, dating back to the 1850s. Fr. Konrad Peters SJ was the parish priest from 1851 to 1858. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha and Archbishop

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 Semi ...

shared a close friendship while living in the parish. The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission is keen to move beyond seminars and to improve women's lot, through participation in all spheres of life, social, economic, and political. At a one-day women's seminar on March 8, 1997, in St. Mary’s parish, measures were proposed to enhance women's participation in economic activity to empower them to take their fate into their own hands. The parish also encompasses the St. Mary’s High School, Sukkur, the only Catholic high school in Sukkur, was established in 1881.

Destruction and rebuilding

In February 2006, a mob destroyed St. Mary's Catholic Church and St. Savior's Protestant Church Similar attacks in other parts of the country have brought Muslim and minority religious leaders together. They have joined in condemning the string of attacks on churches in Pakistan and called for the government to change conditions that they say foster bigotry. During the attack, the mob of several thousand arsonists ripped out and burnt pews and statues, and tried to force open the tabernacle, only for the handle to break off in their hands. The building was completely gutted by fire, leaving only the brick walls and no roof. The bishop, Bishop Max Rodrigues, of Hyderabad, after waiting for government compensation, eventually turned to the aid organisation,

Aid to the Church in Need Aid to the Church in Need (, , ) is an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, which yearly offers financial support to more than 5,000 projects worldwide. Aid to the Church in Need's General Secretariat and Project Headquarters is in ...

. With the funds he raised and with the help of the local parishioners, the church was rebuilt and enlarged for a growing congregation. It reopened in 2009.Aid to the Church in Need: Sukkur - Rebuilding Saint Mary's Church
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References

1851 establishments in British India Roman Catholic churches in Pakistan Sukkur District Roman Catholic churches completed in 1851 {{Pakistan-RC-church-stub