St. Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary is the preparatory seminary of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad (Lat: ''Dioecesis Faisalabadensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan. History Erected in 1960, as the Diocese of Lyallpur, the diocese was created from the Dio ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was started in 1981 at the initiative of Bishop Paul Andreotti OP in a rented property at Nalka Kohala on Sargodha Road in

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

. Father Bashir Francis was the first Rector. The late Father Giles Amarasekera became the second Rector in 1983. In 1983, land was purchased for the construction of a new seminary. The dedication of the seminary occurred in 1985 under the leadership of the late Bishop John Joseph. The building being completed in December 1994. The seminary also plays host to other important events like the ongoing formation program for young priests attended by thirty young priests from various Religious congregations and dioceses from January 21–26, 1990. Bishop

Rufin Anthony Rufin Anthony (12 February 1940 – 17 October 2016) was a Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop. Early life Anthony was born in Khushpur, Lyallpur District, British India (now in Faisalabad District, Pakistan). He completed his primary and secondar ...

, the new bishop 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 ...

was its third Rector. Father Simon Felix was the fourth Rector. Unfortunate circumstances led to the closing of the seminary in 1999, but it was reopened in 2003. Father Samuel George was the Rector from 2010 to 2011. The seminary had 18 students at the time. The cost of running the seminary was US$1,800 per month. In 2012 Fr. Imran Benjamin was the rector. In June 2016, there were 24 students at the seminary. In 2019, there were 25 students studying at the Seminary. The seminary receives financial assistance from

Aid to the Church in Need In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

. This was acknowledged by Archbishop

Joseph Arshad Joseph Arshad (born August 25, 1964) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Biography Arshad was born on August 25, 1964, in Lahore. After completing school, he began his priestly education at St. Mary's Minor Semi ...

and rector Fr. Kamran Taj. In 2019 Fr. Kamran Taj was appointed rector of Christ the King Major Seminary in Karachi.Agenzia Fides 22 November 2019
/ref>

Notable alumni

Father

Indrias Rehmat Joseph Indrias Rehmat (born 1 July 1966) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad in Pakistan. On June 29, 2019 Pope Francis appointed Father Joseph Indrias Rehmat, of the Diocese of Faisalabad, currently Dean of the National Catholic Instit ...

, of the Diocese of Faisalabad, named Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Faisalabad in June 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary Catholic seminaries in Pakistan Catholic minor seminaries 1981 establishments in Pakistan Educational institutions established in 1981 Schools in Faisalabad