St. Mary's Minor Seminary, Lahore, is the preparatory seminary in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lahore is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in Punjab province, Pakistan. Its episcopal seat is the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. History In 1594 the Mughal emperor Akbar invited some Cat ...

. It is the first minor seminary in the country, started by Belgian Capuchin Bishop Marcel Roger Buyse of Lahore in 1951. St. Mary's is now serving

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, Multan and Rawalpindi dioceses, as well as the Capuchins and Franciscans. In November 1991 the seminary was visited by

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

of Calcutta. She spoke to the 112 minor seminarians about their vocation. From September 1992, St. Mary's Seminary has been training seminarians from two other dioceses – the Karachi archdiocese and Hyderabad diocese. The physical facilities have also been expanded with two new classrooms on the first floor of the seminary and the new extension hall, named after St. John Vianney, patron saint of diocesan clergy. In 1992 the seminary had 98 students. Bishop

Joseph Coutts Joseph Coutts (born 21 July 1945) is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012. Pope Francis created Coutts a cardinal on 28 Jun ...

of Faisalabad has been one of its rectors. Fr. Inayat Bernard was appointed rector of the diocese's St. Mary's Minor Seminary in 1988. Father Zacharia Ghouri was rector of the Seminary in 2007. Bernard is rector of the seminary again in 2016. Since 1977, the seminary has also been home to the WAVE Studio, that produces audio cassettes and DVDs with performances of Church music. At St. Mary's Seminary, seminarians are encouraged to take an interest in human development and social issues. The seminarians held a Labor Day program on May 1, 2003, to highlight the importance of laborers. A Vocation Day was held at the seminary on June 14, 2010. Around 110 Catholic youngsters from several parishes attended the program that included a Mass by Auxiliary Bishop

Sebastian Francis Shah Sebastian Francis Shaw (born 14 November 1957) is a Pakistani Roman Catholic archbishop. He was born in Padri Jo Goth, Sindh, Pakistan on 14 November 1957. He received his early education at Fatima High School and attended the Government De ...

of Lahore. In 2010 there are 48 minor seminarians at St. Mary's, along with 48 others studying philosophy at St. Francis Xavier Seminary in Lahore. The seminary receives financial assistance from the German Catholic agency Kirche in Not. In 2018, Archbishop

, a former rector of the Seminary, was created cardinal by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

.''Daily Times'' May 22, 2018
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References

{{authority control Catholic seminaries in Pakistan 1951 establishments in Pakistan Educational institutions established in 1951