Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
Encyclopedia
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (Lat: Dioecesis Islamabadensis-Ravalpindensis) is a diocese
of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church
in Pakistan
.
The diocese has a long history, as it was originally erected in 1887, as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir. The prefecture was erected from the Diocese of Lahore.
In 1947, the Apostolic prefecture was elevated to a full diocese, and renamed the diocese of Rawalpindi
.
In 1952, Kashmir
was lost to the diocese, and a new diocese created from territory in Rawalpindi and Lahore to create the Apostolic Prefecture of Kashmir and Jammu.
In 1979, the name was changed to the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lahore
. It comprises the Rawalpindi Division, the Sargodha Division, the whole Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, the FATA (Federal Administrated Tribal Areas), Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas, Gujrat District of Gujranwala Division. At the time there were only 16 priests to minister to the Catholics in the diocese.
The principal church of the diocese is the St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi
.
The Diocese has a population of about 35 million, including 250,000 Catholics many of whom are committed to education (through its more than 70 schools like the Catholic Public High School
in Sangota
, in the Swat Valley), training institutes and hospitals.
In 2009, 31 priests served a declining population of 180,000 Catholics. The third largest Catholic diocese of Pakistan is divided into 19 parishes.
The former vicar general of Faisalabad diocese
, Father Rufin Anthony
, was appointed Coadjutor Bishop
to Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo
of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi by Pope Benedict XVI
on August 4, 2009. He succeeded Bishop Lobo as Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi upon the acceptance by Benedict of Lobo's resignation on Thursday, February 18, 2010.
In August 2010 the heaviest rains in 80 years caused the worst flooding the country has ever seen, affecting much of the Diocese. Catholic Relief Services, Pakistan
had to evacuate staff quarters in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region due to the flooding in the province. A team of Caritas Pakistan
also travelled to Peshawar to assess the situation and follow up with relief aid. The Sisters of the Daughters of St. Paul
congregation also distributed religious as well as food items in Nowshera, one of the 10 districts in Pakistan most severely affected by the floods.
was attacked by a group of armed men on 28 March 2011 which resulted in damages. It is believed that the incident was related to the recent episode of the burning of the Quran by Pastor Terry Jones in the U.S..
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in 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...
.
The diocese has a long history, as it was originally erected in 1887, as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir. The prefecture was erected from the Diocese of Lahore.
In 1947, the Apostolic prefecture was elevated to a full diocese, and renamed the diocese of Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
.
In 1952, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
was lost to the diocese, and a new diocese created from territory in Rawalpindi and Lahore to create the Apostolic Prefecture of Kashmir and Jammu.
In 1979, the name was changed to the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lahore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore is an archdiocese in Punjab, Pakistan.-History:It was founded as a diocese on 1 September 1886, having previously been the Vicariate of Punjab. On 23 April 1994 the diocese was elevated to the rank of Archdiocese. Fr...
. It comprises the Rawalpindi Division, the Sargodha Division, the whole Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, the FATA (Federal Administrated Tribal Areas), Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas, Gujrat District of Gujranwala Division. At the time there were only 16 priests to minister to the Catholics in the diocese.
The principal church of the diocese is the St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi
St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi
St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.St. Joseph's Cathedral is well known for the large congregations from Rawalpindi, Islamabad and surrounding areas, that attend Good Friday, Easter and Christmas services each...
.
The Diocese has a population of about 35 million, including 250,000 Catholics many of whom are committed to education (through its more than 70 schools like the Catholic Public High School
Catholic Public High School
The Catholic Public High School in Sangota, in the Swat Valley, Pakistan was built in 1962 under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi....
in Sangota
Sangota
Sangota is a village in Swat District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 34°47'0N 72°25'0E with an altitude of 1120 metres ....
, in the Swat Valley), training institutes and hospitals.
In 2009, 31 priests served a declining population of 180,000 Catholics. The third largest Catholic diocese of Pakistan is divided into 19 parishes.
The former vicar general of Faisalabad diocese
Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.Erected in 1960, as the Diocese of Lyallpur, the diocese was created from the Diocese of Multan...
, Father 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...
, was appointed Coadjutor Bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
to Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo
Anthony Theodore Lobo
Anthony Theodore Lobo is a Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop. He was born in Karachi, Pakistan on July 4, 1937 to parents of Goan origin. He received his early education at Saint Patrick's High School and religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi, and was ordained a priest in...
of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on August 4, 2009. He succeeded Bishop Lobo as Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi upon the acceptance by Benedict of Lobo's resignation on Thursday, February 18, 2010.
In August 2010 the heaviest rains in 80 years caused the worst flooding the country has ever seen, affecting much of the Diocese. Catholic Relief Services, Pakistan
Catholic Relief Services, Pakistan
Catholic Relief Services first began its work in 1943. It is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency provides assistance to people in 99 countries and territories based on need, regardless of race, nationality or creed...
had to evacuate staff quarters in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region due to the flooding in the province. A team of Caritas Pakistan
Caritas Pakistan
Caritas Pakistan opened in 1965 and has many years of humanitarian assistance in Pakistan. It is affiliated with Caritas Internationalis, a Roman Catholic humanitarian organisation and one of the largest networks dedicated to reducing poverty and injustice in the world. -Asian Tsunami:The...
also travelled to Peshawar to assess the situation and follow up with relief aid. The Sisters of the Daughters of St. Paul
Daughters of St. Paul, Pakistan
The Daughters of Saint Paul are a Roman Catholic religious order for women. In Pakistan, the Sisters have two communities in Lahore and Karachi. There are 12 nuns, five of whom are local women, 8 novices and 20 aspirants...
congregation also distributed religious as well as food items in Nowshera, one of the 10 districts in Pakistan most severely affected by the floods.
Ordinaries
- Domenico Wagenaar, M.H.M. † ( 1901 Appointed - 1915 Died)
- Robert J. Winkley, M.H.M. † (24 Oct 1916 Appointed - 1 Nov 1930 Died)
- Giuseppe Patrizio O'Donohoe, M.H.M. † (26 Jan 1934 Appointed - 1947 Died)
- Nicholas Hettinga, M.H.M. † (24 Jul 1947 Appointed - 26 Dec 1973 Died)
- Simeon Anthony Pereira † (17 Dec 1973 Appointed - 22 Mar 1993 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Karachi)
- Anthony Theodore Lobo (28 May 1993 Appointed - 18 Feb 2010 Resigned); Bishop Emeritus
- Rufin Anthony (18 Feb 2010 Succeeded - ); had previously been Coadjutor Bishop
Schools
- St Mary's Academy (Rawalpindi)
- St Mary's Cambridge SchoolSt Mary's Cambridge SchoolSt Mary's Cambridge School is a high school situated on Murree Road in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.- History :Saint Mary's Cambridge High School is one of the oldest independent schools of Rawalpindi. The first owner of the school was Mr. Faiq Ayubi. It is housed in an old building which was previously...
- Convent of Jesus and Mary (Murree)Convent of Jesus and Mary (Murree)The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Murree is a girls school located in Murree, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1818, by a French woman named Claudine Thévenet, whose sole purpose for the school was to train young ladies so that they make good housewives and women in life.It was announced in 2007,...
- Don Bosco Catholic SchoolDon Bosco Catholic SchoolThe Don Bosco Catholic School is a primary school under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in Bannu in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, 250 kilometers southwest of Islamabad....
, Bannu, NWFP - Catholic Public High SchoolCatholic Public High SchoolThe Catholic Public High School in Sangota, in the Swat Valley, Pakistan was built in 1962 under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi....
, Sangota, NWFP - St. Mary's High School, PeshawarSt. Mary's High School, PeshawarSt. Mary's High School, Peshawar, is an educational institution in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. St. Mary's is run by the Diocesan Board of Education of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. Bishop Anthony Lobo is the chairman of the Board. At Present the school is...
- Presentation Convent, RawalpindiPresentation Convent Girls High SchoolPresentation Convent High School Rawalpindi, is a missionary school located in Lalkurti area of Rawalpindi Cantonment, Pakistan.In 1895 Mother Ignatius McDermott, Sr. Xavier Lonergan and Sr. Evangelist Coatsworth arrived in Rawalpindi from Madras. The first Mass was celebrated on 8 September 1895...
- Presentation Convent High School, MurreePresentation Convent High School, MurreePresentation Convent High School, Murree, was founded by the Presentation Sisters and is regulated by the Catholic Board of Education under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi....
- Presentation Convent School, PeshawarPresentation Convent School, PeshawarPresentation Convent School, Peshawar, was founded by the Presentation Sisters and is regulated by the Catholic Board of Education under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi....
- Presentation Convent High School, SargodhaPresentation Convent High School, SargodhaPresentation Convent High School, Sargodha, Pakistan, was founded by the Presentation Sisters and is regulated by the Catholic Board of Education under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.-History:...
- St. Michael's High School, Peshawar
Communal violence
St. Thomas’ Church, Wah CanttSt. Thomas’ Church, Wah Cantt
St. Thomas’ Church, Wah Cantt is a Catholic church located about 50 km from Rawalpindi, Pakistan.The church was attacked by a group of armed men on 28 March 2011 which resulted in damages. About 6.30 pm six armed men broke into the Church's courtyard, throwing rocks and trying to force open the...
was attacked by a group of armed men on 28 March 2011 which resulted in damages. It is believed that the incident was related to the recent episode of the burning of the Quran by Pastor Terry Jones in the U.S..