St Michael's Church, Peshawar

St Michael's Catholic Church is the oldest Catholic Church in Peshawar, Pakistan. It is located on The Mall. It was consecrated in 1851.^[1] It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.

History

In the days of the Empire, British Catholic soldiers, armed with rifles, would parade to church, led by a Drum Major wielding his baton, with two bagpipers and two or four kettle drummers. After Mass, the soldiers would march back to their barracks. The church had special pews with arrangements for holding weapons.^[2]

Modern times

Since 1957 the parish has also been home to St. Mary's High School for boys.

In 2001 Fr. John William, the parish priest at St. Michael's,Catholic Church asked the Pakistani government for soldiers to guard Christian churches and housing developments after threats of violence had been made in Peshawar.^[3]

The tower of St Michael's Catholic Church almost collapsed following the country's worst-ever earthquake in 2005.^[4]

Once again church leaders and Christian communities received letters warning them to convert to Islam or face suicide bombings. A group of church leaders met with police officials on August 11, 2007 and urged authorities to protect the minorities and apprehend the fundamentalists for causing unrest. Fr. Yousaf Amanat was parish priest of St. Michael's Catholic Church at the time.^[5]

Fr. John Vianney is the Parish Priest and Fr. Nasir William is the Assistant Priest of St. Michael's.

References