Raymond Saeed
Pope John Paul II appointed Raymond Saeed apostolic administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan in Pakistan. Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, then a monsignor and the acting chargé d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature in Islamabad, announced that Archbishop Renzo Fratini had informed Multan diocese of the appointment on September 17, 1998, before leaving his post as nuncio to Pakistan. Afflicted with diabetes and high blood pressure, Bishop Patras Yusaf had been ill for some time, and Father Saeed, Multan vicar general, had been handling many diocesan matters for the bishop. The appointment enabled him to administer the financial accounts as well.
A native of the diocese, Saeed, was born in 1948. He received his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary (Pakistan). He was ordained a priest in 1973 and studied at the East Asian Pastoral Institute in the Philippines in 1979.[1]
Patras Yusaf, the fourth bishop of Multan, after suffering from complications from diabetes and high blood pressure, died on December 29, 1998. On December 31, Saeed concelebrated the funeral Mass with Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad and Monsignor Rugambwa Novatus, acting chargé d'affaires at the Apostolic Nunciature in Islamabad.[2]
Saeed continued to serve as apostolic administrator until January 10, 2000, when Pope John Paul II proclaimed Fr. Andrew Francis from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore as the new bishop of Multan.[3]
While a parish priest in Multan, Saeed spoke out against the illegal employment of children doing dangerous work in Multan's machine and welding shops. The Pakistan Constitution states that "no children below the age of 14 years shall be engaged in any factory or other form of hazardous employment", but the law is violated with impunity. A 1999 study found that 13 million children under the age of 14 were illegally employed.[4]