St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then- suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdioc ...

, and is located near the Empress Market in the Saddar locality in central

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 c ...

. The church was completed in 1881, and can accommodate 1,500 worshipers. At the front of the cathedral, there is the Monument to Christ the King, built between 1926 and 1931 to commemorate the Jesuit mission in Sindh.

History

The first church in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, called St. Patrick’s Church, was built on the grounds of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

in 1845 as a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

mission at a cost of 6,000 rupees under the leadership of Karachi's first Carmelite priest, Father Casaboch. As the Catholic population of the city grew, the city's Catholics raised money for construction of a new church. Groundbreaking was done in 1878, and the church was consecrated on 24 April 1881. Despite the construction of the new building, the little church continued to function until it was destroyed by a storm in 1885.

Design

The present-day cathedral is built in

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

; it measures 52 metres by 22 metres, and has the capacity to accommodate at least 1,500 worshippers at the same time. It was designed and realized by three members of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

: The design of the cathedral was conceived by the architect Father Karl Wagner, SJ and the construction was supervised by the lay Brothers George Kluver, SJ and Herman Lau, SJ. The Gazetteer of the Province of Sindh provides a description of the cathedral:

"Its exterior is not ornamental, though striking from a distance, but money and art have been lavished on the interior. The
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
, itself spacious, acquires a special impressiveness but its additional height, while the noble contours of the aspiring
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...
are seen to the best advantage. The whole interior is painted in oil and the windows are all of
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, donated by the members of the congregation."

Stained-glass windows

The cathedral's stained-glass windows were produced by Franz Mayer of Munich, Germany. They depict the following scenes:Ali, G. and Ali, M. St. Patrick’s: A journey of 175 years. Archdiocese of Karachi, 2018. *1.

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

*2. The sacrifice of Melchisedek *3. The sacrifice of

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

*4. The Paschal lamb *5. The miraculous Manna *6. The

annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

*7. The visitation *8. The

Nativity of Jesus The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...

*9. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple *10. The flight into Egypt *11. The boy Jesus in the temple *12. The death of Joseph *13. The baptism of Jesus *14. The wedding at Cana *15. St. Peter receives the keys *16. Jesus raises Lazarus to life *17. The institution of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

*18. Agony of Jesus *19. Jesus carries his cross *20. The Crucifixion *21. The resurrection of Christ *22. The Ascension of Jesus *23. The crowning of Our Lady *24. The first Jesuits

Recent times

In 1978 the cathedral celebrated its centenary. The Pakistan

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

issued special commemorative stamps on the occasion.

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

sent special greetings and blessings on the occasion. In November 1991 the cathedral 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. Cardinal

Joseph Cordeiro Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro (19 January 1918 – 11 February 1994) was the first Pakistani cardinal. Early life Cordeiro was born to a Goan family. He was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi, the University of Bombay and Oxford ...

of Karachi also spoke on the occasion. A bomb exploded inside the Cathedral causing an injury and destruction. The explosion on 22 December 1998, occurred minutes after the congregation celebrated Mass. Most people had departed when the bomb went off. One woman was wounded and there was partial damage to the interior of the 120-year-old Cathedral. The cathedral's grounds are adorned with a marble Monument to Christ the King, which was constructed in 1931 to commemorate the memory of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Mission in Sindh. In 2003, the cathedral was declared as a protected monument because of its outstanding architectural beauty under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act. The Cathedral, with a seating capacity of 2,000, used to be the biggest Catholic church in the country. On 9 November 2011 the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra blessed St. Peter’s Church, Karachi, now the largest Catholic church in Pakistan. It can seat 5,000 people. In December 2018, the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the cathedral was led by the Archbishop of Karachi Joseph Cardinal Coutts. He also launched the book ''St Patrick’s: A Journey of 175 Years'' by Goretti and Michael Ali, written specially for the occasion. On 5 October 2019 the Archbishop announced that Fr. Saleh Diego would be the new parish priest of St. Patricks Parish. On 11 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Benny Travas of Multan to succeed Cardinal

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 ...

as Archbishop of Karachi. Travas was installed as Archbishop of Karachi at this Cathedral on 11 April 2021.

Choir

The first music mistress was Sr. Fredericka FC who served from 1878 to 1902. From the 1920s to the 70s, the Cathedral had a polyphonic choir of about thirty members; The members were: Sopranos: Jessie Fernandez, Olive D'Costa, Mary D'Silva, Hilda Freitas, Winnie Lobo, Carol Lobo Altos: Essie Menezes, Emma Correa, Nita Dias, Maureen Rodrigues, Ioline Fitchew, Ann Fitchew Armstrong Bases: Eustach Caldera, Sonoo D'Abreo, Austen Frietas, Isaac Noronha, R.C Fernandes Tenors: Vincent D'Abreo, Vincent Lobo, Glenn D'Abreo, Hector Lewis, Joseph Moniz, Derek Domingo The choir was conducted at first in the 20s and 30s by Carlos Fernandes, who was replaced by C.M. Lobo until the early 70s when he was replaced by his nephew Vincent Lobo. The organists for the choir had been C.M. Lobo before he took over the position of director and then Leo DeSousa who was followed by Fr. Ronnie Colaco until the choir folded in May 1974. It was never replaced by a polyphonic choral group of its previous capability. In 2018 the parish has five choirs: the Seniors, Shamrock, Praise in Harmony, Cathedral choir and Urdu choir.

Gallery

PK Karachi asv2020-02 img40 StPatrick Cathedral.jpg, Monument to Christ the King with Saint Patrick's Cathedral PK Karachi asv2020-02 img43 StPatrick Cathedral.jpg, Interior of the cathedral PK Karachi asv2020-02 img42 StPatrick Cathedral.jpg, The altar

Parish Priests

*Fr. Francis Casabosch OCD 1844-47 *Fr. J. Lopez 1847-50 *Fr. G. D'Silva 1850 *Fr. P. Ireneus OCD 1850-51 *Fr. Joh Chrysostomus OCD 1852-52 *Fr. Andres Jesu Mariae OCD 1853-53 *Fr. R. J. Periston1854-55 *Fr. P. Felix O. Cap. 1855-58 *Fr. P. Raphael O. Cap. 1858-59 *Fr. George Bridges SJ 1859 *Fr. G. Strickland SJ 1859 *Fr. Joseph Willy SJ 1859-65 *Fr. Basilius Haefly SJ 1865-1867 *Fr. Anselm Leiter SJ 1867-68 *Fr. Nicolas Pagani SJ 1868-72 *Fr. George Bridges SJ 1872-74 *Fr. Joseph Nueckel SJ 1874-76 *Fr. Francis Belz SJ 1876-87 *Fr. A. Bruder SJ 1887-94 *Fr. H. Jurgens SJ 1894-97 *Fr. T. Peters SJ 1897-1900 *Fr. J. B. Schroeter SJ 1900-10 *Fr. C. Gertler SJ 1910 *Fr. A. Gyr SJ 1910-16 *Fr. D. Lynch SJ 1916-18 *Fr. E. Farrell SJ 1918-20 *Fr. S. Boswin SJ 1920-22 *Fr. J. Meyer SJ 1922-23 *Fr. Vincent Gimenez SJ 1922-35 *Fr. Valens Wienk OFM 1935-36 *Fr.

Salesius Lemmens Salesius Lemmens, was a Dutch Franciscan friar who served as the Apostolic Prefect of the Catholic Church in Karachi, then a part of British India. He died at the age of 37 in a drowning accident. Early career Lemmens came from a large family an ...

OFM 1936-38 *Fr. Alcuinus van Miltenburg OFM 1938-40 *Fr. Achilles Meersman OFM 1940-41 *Fr. Alcuinus van Miltenburg OFM 1941-43 *Fr. Floregius Rypma OFM 1943-55 *Fr. Modestine Pöttgens OFM 1955-1966 *Fr. Francis de Souza 1966-1975 *Fr. Robert D'Silva 1975-1983 *Fr. Anthony Martis 1983-1992 *Fr.

James DeSouza James "Jimmy" deSouza (11 December 1925 – 28 January 2016) was a Catholic priest, teacher, school principal and humanitarian. Biography DeSouza was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi. He received his ...

1992-2000 *Fr. Achilles DeSouza 2000-2001 *Fr. Joseph D'Mello 2001-2007 *Fr. Edward Joseph 2007-2014 *Fr. Mario A. Rodrigues 2014-2019 UCANews 15 March 2016
/ref> *Fr. Saleh Diego 2019 -

References

{{Coord, 24, 51.712, N, 67, 02.103, E, display=title, region:PK_type:landmark_source:GNS-enwiki 1881 establishments in the British Empire

Roman Catholic churches in Karachi Gothic Revival church buildings in Pakistan