Benny Mario Travas (born 21 November 1966) is a Pakistani prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and Archbishop of Karachi,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He served as Bishop of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

from 2015 to 2021.

Biography

Travas was born in Karachi, Pakistan, on 21 November 1966. He received his early education from St. Patrick's High School, Karachi from where he graduated in 1983. He graduated from the Christ the King seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Karachi on 7 December 1990 and then spent seven years in pastoral work. In 1997, he received a licentiate in canon law from the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

in Rome. On his return to Pakistan he was professor of canon law at the National Catholic Institute of Theology, rector of St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Karachi, and Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Karachi. He was also a judge of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Karachi and a member of the College of Consultors and of the Priests' Council. He was Vice President of the

Catholic Board of Education The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. On 13 June 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted the resignation of Bishop

Andrew Francis Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, '' Monster Rancher'' as Genki, '' ...

of Multan and appointed Travas as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. On 29 May 2015, Pope Francis appointed Travas Bishop of Multan. He received his episcopal consecration on 15 August 2015 from Archbishop

Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader (Arabic: غالب موسى عبد الله بدر; born 22 July 1951) is a Jordanian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico ...

, Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan. In 2016 he was appointed Chair of Caritas Pakistan. In December 2016, at a meeting of Asian bishops, he described the principal challenges facing the Catholic Church in Pakistan as charges brought under the blasphemy laws and mob violence, as well as poverty, drug addiction, and the shortage of priests. In October 2016 he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

. In February 2019, he was elected secretary of the

International Commission on English in the Liturgy The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is a commission set up by a number of episcopal conferences of English-speaking countries for the purpose of providing English translations of the liturgical books of the Roman Rite, ...

. On 13 June 2020, he inaugurated St. Peter's CSS Academy in Multan. The Academy encourages and facilitates Catholics to appear for the

Central Superior Services The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

(CSS) exams that lead to federal public service jobs. This is the first time a concerted effort has been made to promote Catholics into the public service. In 2020 Travas went into isolation after he tested positive for Covid-19. On 11 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Travas to succeed Joseph Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi. Travas was installed as Archbishop of Karachi at the St Patrick's Cathedral on 11 April 2021.Dawn April 12, 2021
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References

External links

* --> {{DEFAULTSORT:Travas, Benny Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Pakistan 1966 births Pakistani people of Goan descent Pontifical Urban University alumni St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Karachi Roman Catholic bishops of Multan Goan Catholics Religious leaders from Karachi