Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi
| Archdiocese of Karachi Archidioecesis Karachiensis کراچی کے میٹروپولیٹن | |
|---|---|
 St. Patricks Cathedral | |
| Location | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Territory | The city of Karachi with its five districts: Karachi Central, South, West, East and Malir. |
| Ecclesiastical province | Karachi |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 180,000 km2 (69,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2011) 15,802,000 166,000 (1.1%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 1948 |
| Cathedral | St. Patrick's Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Joseph Coutts |
| Suffragans | Diocese of Hyderabad |
| Emeritus Bishops | Evarist Pinto Archbishop Emeritus (2004-2012) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
The Archdiocese of Karachi, originally known as the Diocese of Karachi, was erected on 20 May 1948 under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bombay, India. It was elevated as the Archdiocese of Karachi on 15 July 1950. The seat of the Archdiocese is St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Christ the King Seminary, the major seminary of the country, is located in the Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese has contributed to the welfare of the country through its schools, hospitals, 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.[1]
The Archdiocese has also produced a religious order for women known as the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King (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.[2]
The Archdiocese celebrated its Golden Jubilee on 20 May 1998.[3]
In 2000, the archdiocese had 18 parishes, 15 in the city of Karachi and one each in mission stations at Kotri, Khuzdar and Larkana.[4] In 2009, the Archdiocese had 145 thousand faithful in a population of 15 million people.[5]
Encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI'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",[6] 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.[7]
On December 11, 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.[8]
Ordinaries
• James Cornelius van Miltenburg, O.F.M. † (20 May 1948 to 28 Apr 1958)
• Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro † (7 May 1958 to 11 Feb 1994)
• Simeon Anthony Pereira † (11 Feb 1994 to 20 Nov 2002)
• Evarist Pinto (5 Jan 2004 to 25 Jan 2012)
• Joseph Coutts (since 25 Jan 2012)
Affiliated bishops
- Anthony Theodore Lobo (Auxiliary Bishop: 8 Jun 1982 to 28 May 1993)
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
- St. Lawrence’s Church
- Sacred Heart Church, Keamari
- 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[9]
- Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Old Haji Camp
- St John Marie Vianney Church, Mehmoodabad
See also
List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Pakistan
References
- ↑ "UCANews.com March 3, 1998".
- ↑ "AsiaNews.it 21 October2006".
- ↑ "KARACHI ARCHDIOCESE GOLDEN JUBILEE".
- ↑ The Christian Voice, Karachi, August 27, 2000
- ↑ "AsiaNews.it 29 October 2009".
- ↑ "Catholic Word Getting Out In Pakistan".
- ↑ "Good News TV".
- ↑ "Ucanews.com December 17, 2009".
- ↑ AsiaNews November 12, 2011
External links
- "Archdiocese of Karachi". Catholic Hierarchy. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
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