Sukkur
Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest cit ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
- 22 August 2006,
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
) was a former
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
.
Life
Pereira was educated at
St Patrick's High School, Karachi
, motto_translation = Through hardships to the stars
, location = Saddar Town, Sindh
, city = Karachi
, province =
, country = Pakistan
, coordinates =
, established =
, found ...
. He received his religious training at the Papal Seminary, Kandy, Sri Lanka and was ordained a priest on 24 August 1951. He first worked as secretary to
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
Archbishop
James Cornelius van Miltenburg
James Cornelius van Miltenburg O.F.M., also known as Alcuin van Miltenburg (14 September 1909 - 14 March 1966), was a Dutch prelate of the Catholic Church who was a missionary bishop in Pakistan, the first bishop of Karachi and of Hyderabad, Pakist ...
of Karachi, and Chaplain to the Sisters and flock at Manora.
His next posting was Father-in charge of the Don Bosco Boarding for boys in Karachi. In 1952, he proceeded to Quetta as assistant rector of St. Pius X Minor Seminary. A few years later, he was appointed Parish Priest of Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Old Haji Camp. His next appointment was as Parish Priest of Saint John's Church, Drigh Road, Karachi.
Following the liturgical reforms of the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
, he worked with Father Liberius, a scholar and linguist, to introduce
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. On 17 December 1973 he was appointed
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (Lat: ''Dioecesis Islamabadensis-Ravalpindensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.
There is anecdotal evidence that St. Thomas the Apostle passed through Ta ...
. He was bishop of Rawalpindi for nearly 20 years. On 22 March 1993 he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi. He succeeded Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro as Archbishop of Karachi on 11 February 1994 and retired from that office on 20 November 2002.
Pereira celebrated the silver jubilee of his episcopal ordination on 4 October 1996, with a bilingual Mass concelebrated with retired Franciscan Bishop Bonaventure Patrick Paul.
After retiring in November 2002, he served as pastor of St. Thomas Church in Malir and as chaplain of the Dominican nuns at the Monastery of the Angels in Landhi. He was also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan.
Pereira died on 22 August 2006.