Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Karachi

The Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, located on Siddiq Wahab Road in the Old Haji Camp area, is a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi in Pakistan.

The first parish priest, from July 1941 – 1944, was Fr. Liberius Pieterse. He later became known for his translation of the Bible into Urdu.^[1] For nearly 80 years, parish nuns have maintained a medical clinic and school for poor Pakistanis.

During the mid 1950s Fr. Simeon Anthony Pereira was appointed Parish Priest of the parish. Fr. Simeon went on to become the Archbishop of Karachi ^[2]

The parish also has a school attached to it.^[3]

In November 2011 a three-day festival was held to celebrate 75 years of the parish. Archbishop Evarist Pinto of Karachi and nine priests offered a thanksgiving Mass for the jubilee year.

St. Francis was the first parish to cater to the many people migrating from Punjab province to the city. The Jesuits and the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King nuns started the migrant mission which still continues as Catholics pour in from the provinces.^[4]

Father Mohan Victor was the Parish Priest in 2012.^[5]

Fr. Felix D'Souza was the Parish Priest in 2016.

Attack

On October 12, 2012, the parish was attacked by a mob of 600 Islamic radicals that destroyed property in the yard, but failed to break down the front door.^[6] Saleem Khurshid Khokhar, a member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly, visited shortly after the attack and condemned violence against religious minorities.^[7]

References

Coordinates: 24°52′1″N 67°0′25″E / 24.86694°N 67.00694°E / 24.86694; 67.00694