The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (Lat: ''Dioecesis Islamabadensis-Ravalpindensis'') is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 ...

. There is anecdotal evidence that St.

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

passed through

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area a ...

(in this diocese) on his way to India in the first century AD. The diocese has a long history, as it was originally erected in 1887, as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir. The

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

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 ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...

. In 1952,

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

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 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

and the Northern Areas,

Gujrat District Gujrat (Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Riv ...

Gujranwala Division Gujranwala Division is an administrative division of Punjab province, Pakistan. The division, headquartered at the city of Gujranwala, consist of 6 districts, covers an area of 17,207 km2. According to the 1981 census, the population was 7,5 ...

, the

Rawalpindi Division Rawalpindi Division, also known as Pothohar Division, is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Rawalpindi city is the capital of the division. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the total population of division was 10 m ...

, and the

Sargodha Division Sargodha Division is an administrative division of Punjab province, Pakistan. Sargodha city is the capital of the division. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the total population of the division was 8.18 million. Divisions are the thir ...

. 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 Catholic Public High School, commonly known as Sangota Public School, is a private Catholic primary and secondary school for girls in Sangota, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was established in 1962 under the direction of the Diocese of Islamab ...

in Sangota, in the Swat Valley), training institutes and hospitals. In 1920 the

Medical Mission Sisters The Medical Mission Sisters (MMS) is a religious congregation of women in the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in September 1925 with a goal of providing the poor of the world better access to health care. They were formerly known as the "S ...

set up the 16-bed St. Catherine's Hospital in Rawalpindi under the auspices of the Diocese. The hospital evolved into the Holy Family Hospital and continued to operate under the Diocese until 1977. In that year the diocese was no longer able to bear the financial burden of running the hospital and handed it over to the Government of Punjab. The Medical Mission Sisters went to work at the

Holy Family Hospital, Karachi Holy Family Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, was founded in 1948 by the Medical Mission Sisters, a Roman Catholic religious order for women based in Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of ...

. In 1996 the Diocese opened Our Lady of Lourdes Minor Seminary which is its preparatory seminary. 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 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 ...

, was appointed

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

to Bishop

Anthony Theodore Lobo Anthony Theodore Felix Lobo (4 July 1937 – 18 February 2013) was a Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop. On 8 June 1982 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Karachi by Pope John Paul II. On 28 May 1993 he became Bishop of Islamabad–Rawalpindi. ...

of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

on 4 August 2009. He succeeded Bishop Lobo as Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi upon the acceptance by Benedict of Lobo's resignation on Thursday, 18 February 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 Caritas Pakistan opened in 1965 and has many years of humanitarian assistance history in Pakistan. It is affiliated with Caritas Internationalis, a Roman Catholic humanitarian organisation and one of the largest networks dedicated to reducing pove ...

also travelled to Peshawar to assess the situation and follow up with relief aid. The Sisters of the

Daughters of St. Paul The Daughters of St. Paul ( la, Filiarum Sancti Pauli; it, Figlie di San Paolo), also known as the Media Nuns, are an international Catholic religious congregation of consecrated womenhttps://www.paoline.org/who-we-are/the-pauline-family/?lang= ...

congregation also distributed religious as well as food items in Nowshera, one of the 10 districts in Pakistan most severely affected by the floods. In 2016, the Diocese initiated the cause for the

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to Intercession of saints, intercede on behalf of individual ...

Shahbaz Bhatti Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 19682 March 2011), popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from N ...

making him a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

in the Catholic Church. Bhatti was a Christian politician who dedicated his life to the service of the underprivileged and was assassinated in 2011. In January 2020, the diocese organized a preparatory course to help Catholics enter the civil service. 26 students, mostly women, attended in the course held at

St Mary's Cambridge School St Mary’s Cambridge Higher Secondary School, also Saint Mary’s Cambridge Higher Secondary School and formerly St Mary's Cambridge High School, is a private Catholic primary and secondary school for boys, located on Murree Road in Rawalpindi, ...

, Rawalpindi.

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 Simeon Anthony Pereira (19 October 1927, Sukkur, British India - 22 August 2006, Karachi) was a former archbishop of Karachi. Life Pereira was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi. He received his religious training at the Papal Semina ...

† (17 Dec 1973 Appointed - 22 Mar 1993 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Karachi) *

† (28 May 1993 Appointed - 18 Feb 2010 Resigned); Bishop Emeritus *

† (18 Feb 2010 - 17 Oct 2016 Died ); had previously been Coadjutor Bishop *

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 ...

(8 Dec 2017 -) previously Bishop of Faisalabad

Educational Institutions in the Diocese

The Church has more than 90 educational institutes in North West Frontier Province, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Jhelum, Gujrat. Khgtrian, Khushab and the Federal Capital.

Schools

*St Mary's Academy (Rawalpindi) *

* Convent of Jesus and Mary (Murree) * Don Bosco Catholic School, Bannu, NWFP *

, Sangota, NWFP * St. Mary's High School, Peshawar * Presentation Convent, Rawalpindi * Presentation Convent High School, Murree * Presentation Convent School, Peshawar * Presentation Convent High School, Sargodha *

Sargodha Catholic High School, Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...

* Saint Pauls Boys High School, Sargodha * Saint Peter High School, Sargodha *

Saint John Bosco School, Sargodha In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

* Saint Treasa School, Sargodha * Saint Padre Pio School, Sargodha * Saint Ann's School, Sargodha * Saint Philips School, Sargodha * Saint Thomas School, Sargodha *St. Michael's High School, Peshawar * St. Mary's High School, Gujrat (Since 1958)

Tertiary Institutions

* Sargodha Institute of Technology *

St Mary’s College, Rawalpindi St Mary's College, Rawalpindi, is an institute of higher learning established by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in 2006 to meet the growing educational needs of the region. It was first called the Ave Maria College of Profess ...

Communal violence

St. Thomas’ Church, Wah Cantt 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.Agenzia Fides, 8 November 2011

Notable people

* Romana Bashir, active since 1997 in interfaith harmony and women's education. *

Samson Simon Sharaf Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf is a retired officer in the Pakistan Army and a Political Economist. He served in Pakistan's Army for 33 years, most notably in Nuclear Policy making. Despite being qualified in security and nuclear strategy, he pre ...

, retired Army officer and military scientist. *Father

Khalid Rehmat Father Khalid Rehmat OFMCap (born 5 August 1968) in Mianwali in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, is the Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Quetta in Pakistan. Rehmat worked as a primary school teacher before joini ...

OFM (Cap.), Vicar Apostolic of Quetta.UCANews January 2, 2021
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Related sites

Diocesan Board of Education

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamabad Islamabad-Rawalpindi Religious organizations established in 1887 1887 establishments in India Islamabad Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Lahore