Khushpur
Encyclopedia
Khushpur is a Christian village in Faisalabad
District in Punjab
province of Pakistan
. It is located at 31°7'0N 72°53'0E with an altitude of 167 metres (551 feet). Neighbouring settlements include Nara Dada and Rashiana
.
The village owes its name to its founder, Father Felix, a European missionary who established a number of villages like Mariamabad in Shekhupura district, Francisabad in Shorkot, Jhang district in Pakistan. “Felix” is the Latin word for "happy". The village was thus given the name of "Khushpur" in Urdu
, the "land of Fr Felix" or “land of Happiness”.
Many important Catholic public figures come from the village; people like Bishop John Joseph
, Bishop Rufin Anthony
, Ilama Paul Ernest, and Shahbaz Bhatti
. The latter was the Federal Minister for Minorities
until his assassination on 2 March 2011.
The village enjoys with fiber system telephone network facility. There are Government schools for boys as well as for girls where children from the surrounding villages come for studies. Parallel Private schools are also serving the students.
For Catholic Christian students the facility of boarding house is also available where not only residence is provided but they enjoy extra study classes as well.
For the people, Dominican sisters (nuns) run a dispensary which is daily opened from morning to afternoon time. The village has Dominican Sisters Convent and one of the old Parish House as well.
Due to salinity the underground water is not good, thus at the bank of the nearby canal (Gogera Branch) tube wells are installed and the drinking water through underground pipes is brought to the centrally operated water tank from where the water is supplied daily in the morning & in the evening in houses.
The village has also got a parish committee that is very active in village’s each social or religious event. Women (mostly old ladies) also have organized a group under St. Catharine of Siena patronage. They visit each family in the village daily and have family prayer with them.
The youth enjoys daily football in the evening as they have football ground facility as well. While for village youth at “Adult Basic Education Centre” beside Adult Basic Education, short courses are also being thought to make them skilled.
Khushpur is the only place where Pakistani Catholic Christian community has established a National Catechist Training Centre. Throughout the country Catechists come and study here for their future vocation.
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
District in Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It is located at 31°7'0N 72°53'0E with an altitude of 167 metres (551 feet). Neighbouring settlements include Nara Dada and Rashiana
Rashiana
Rashiana is a village in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 31°5'10N 72°53'50E with an altitude of 174 metres . Neighbouring settlements include Nara Dada and Gariwal....
.
The village owes its name to its founder, Father Felix, a European missionary who established a number of villages like Mariamabad in Shekhupura district, Francisabad in Shorkot, Jhang district in Pakistan. “Felix” is the Latin word for "happy". The village was thus given the name of "Khushpur" in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, the "land of Fr Felix" or “land of Happiness”.
Many important Catholic public figures come from the village; people like Bishop John Joseph
Bishop John Joseph
John Joseph was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad from 1984–1998 and was best known for committing suicide to protest the cruel treatment of Christians by Pakistani Muslims.John Joseph was born in Khushpur, Pakistan....
, Bishop Rufin Anthony
Rufin Anthony
Rufin Anthony is a Pakistani Roman Catholic Bishop. He completed his primary and secondary school in Khushpur. He received his religious training at the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta and the Christ the King Major Seminary, Karachi and was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of...
, Ilama Paul Ernest, and Shahbaz Bhatti
Shahbaz Bhatti
Clement Shahbaz Bhatti , popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician and elected member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from November 2008 until his assassination on 2 March 2011 in Islamabad...
. The latter was the Federal Minister for Minorities
Ministry of Minorities (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Minorities is a Cabinet-leveled ministry of the Government of Pakistan. The ministry's political figure is known as the Minister for Minorities. Shahbaz Bhatti served in this position from 2008 until March 2, 2011, when he was assassinated in Islamabad.The Ministry of Minorities...
until his assassination on 2 March 2011.
The village enjoys with fiber system telephone network facility. There are Government schools for boys as well as for girls where children from the surrounding villages come for studies. Parallel Private schools are also serving the students.
For Catholic Christian students the facility of boarding house is also available where not only residence is provided but they enjoy extra study classes as well.
For the people, Dominican sisters (nuns) run a dispensary which is daily opened from morning to afternoon time. The village has Dominican Sisters Convent and one of the old Parish House as well.
Due to salinity the underground water is not good, thus at the bank of the nearby canal (Gogera Branch) tube wells are installed and the drinking water through underground pipes is brought to the centrally operated water tank from where the water is supplied daily in the morning & in the evening in houses.
The village has also got a parish committee that is very active in village’s each social or religious event. Women (mostly old ladies) also have organized a group under St. Catharine of Siena patronage. They visit each family in the village daily and have family prayer with them.
The youth enjoys daily football in the evening as they have football ground facility as well. While for village youth at “Adult Basic Education Centre” beside Adult Basic Education, short courses are also being thought to make them skilled.
Khushpur is the only place where Pakistani Catholic Christian community has established a National Catechist Training Centre. Throughout the country Catechists come and study here for their future vocation.